Novel Association for Youth Advocacy (NAYA) A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), has called on the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to create a separate budgetary allocation for Adolescent Youth Friendly Initiatives in FCT.
The National Coordinator of the group, Mrs Rosemary Adaji, made the call in Kuje on Friday, at a one-day workshop and media chat on adolescent and sexual reproductive health services.
Adaji said that there was a need to establish and ensure evidence-based practices for adolescent and youth-friendly health services be integrated into existing routine services in primary health care facilities.
According to her, there was a need to promote adequate awareness and utilisation among young people of available adolescent youth-friendly health services in Primary Health Care Centres in FCT.
She further urged the FCT administration to promote awareness and utilisation among young people of available adolescent youth-friendly health services in Health Centers.
Mr Sabastine Ikejide, the Programme Director, Women Friendly Initiative (WFI), said adolescent age constitutes 22 per cent of Nigeria’s population categorised under the mental, social and behavioral but its health needs are been neglected.
The programme director said many NGOs had supported issues around adolescent health but the outcome had continued to yield poor results due to paucity of funds.
He said that the health of adolescents was missing in the middle and, therefore, called on policymakers to pay close attention to adolescent health for a better society.
“The adolescents need to have a separate budget line in the Federal Ministry of Health in all the sub-nationals and local government areas,” he said. (NAN)
