By G9ija
A non-governmental organization, (NGO) The Challenge Initiative (TCI), said it is committed to helping address issues of provision of sexual and reproductive health education for adolescents and youths as well as strengthening family planning services at Primary Healthcare level.
According to it, one of the ways is through building the capacity of its Life Planning for Adolescents and Youths (LPAY) ambassadors in youth engagement, voice and accountability for adolescents, youth sexual and reproductive health programmes.
Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos Friday, Ajibola Ayomide, LPAY Ambassador, said that some of the issues that LPAY managed included provision of sexual and reproductive health education for adolescents and youths.
NAN reports that TCI is an NGO that strengthens the capacity of LPAY ambassadors in youth engagement, voice and accountability for adolescents and youth sexual and reproductive health programmes.
TCI also provides platform for the integration of LPAY into structures of the State such as the technical working group, advocacy groups, among others.
TCI promotes sustainability and local ownership while demonstrating the feasibility of long-term investment in reproductive health.
it supports Nigeria in scaling up the positive changes in reproductive health delivered through the Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI) since 2009.
Implemented by The Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (CCP), TCI’s Nigeria hub accelerates the scale up of proven NURHI approaches and provide technical support to self-selected states, local government areas (LGAs) and partners willing to invest in family planning.
New states, cities and partners ask for technical and financial coaching and mentoring to implement successful family planning programming to match their own investments.
Ayomide said that the education comprised of how to access services and life skills in Primary Health Care Centers (PHC) across Lagos state.
She said that LPAY ambassadors served as linkage of adolescents to where they could access services and options available to them, including contraceptives; condoms, pills, injectables, and implants for their age.
The LPAY ambassador said that it was pertinent for parents and guardians to play active roles in making sure that their young adults had good reproductive health seeking behaviour and life saving skills.
She appealed to parents to work and cooperate with key stakeholders, LPAY ambassadors especially when working with their young adults.
She reiterates that adolescents and youths could access services in PHCs in Lagos and some organisations like Action Health Incorporated.