A Non-Governmental Organisation, Education Today For Sustainable Development Initiative (ETDI) has harped on the need for more awareness on sexual and reproductive health concerns of adolescents and young people.
Mr Morris Ogbe, Programme Manager of ETDI stated this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abakaliki.
Ogbe explained that a significant population of adolescents and young people especially women and girls lacked information on sexual and reproductive health care.
He added that more awareness creation through education was needed to reverse the ugly trend.
He said that his organisation was partnering the Ebonyi government to carryout advocacy campaigns through informal education training on family life health and HIV education.
Ogbe said that the advocacy was targeted at reaching out to those who have never been to school or dropped out due to early and unintended pregnancy.
He said: “We are implementing the European Union/United Nations Education SpotLight Initiative activity on providing non-formal education and life skills to women and girls, particularly those who have never been to school or left as a result of early pregnancy.
“We have carried out advocacy to sensitise the communities that have been mapped out for the project.
“We have also trained non-formal education facilitators to be able to teach family life skills and family health and HIV education in the non-formal education setting.
“Information about the sexual and reproductive health needs of adolescents and young people, particularly women and girls are generally under served.
“According to Nigeria Demographic Health Survey (NDHS), 2018, the percentage of women and men between ages 15 and 49 with comprehensive knowledge of HIV is 46.2 per cent and 45.3 per cent respectively.
“This among other things indicated the need for more awareness creation and education on sexual reproductive health concerns,’’ he said.
Ogbe said it was against the backdrop that a three-day workshop was organised by ETDI under the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative.
He said the workshop brought together stakeholders from key ministries, including Education, Budget and Planning, Women Affairs as well as state and Federal agencies, Civil Society and Faith-based Organisations.
The aim, he said was to develop key contents for the production of easy to read information, education and communication materials.
According to him, the materials are for distribution during outreaches and for use as a teaching guide for facilitators in non-formal education centres across Ebonyi. (NAN)
