The Nigerian government says it is committed to improving engagement with the youths in the country.
The minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire made this known at the ministerial Press Briefing on the International Adolescent Health Week in Abuja.
“The celebration of this day opens the door for more engagements with young people to have better understanding and hear them out. We need the full cooperation of the youths and development partners to achieve success”, Dr. Ehanire said.
He said that the health and wellbeing of adolescents in the country remains a priority of the government.
“It is estimated that about 10 million unintentional pregnancies occur yearly in the developing world among 15-19year old adolescents, while complications of pregnancy and childbirth are a leading cause of mortality. Evidence shows that one in five young women is married off before the age of 18 and every seven minutes, an adolescent is killed due to violence somewhere in the world (UNICEF 2019;2020). Suicide is sadly the third highest cause of death among this age group while about 10-20% have mental health condition (WHO 2019)”, he added.
Adolescence challenges
The minister noted that 10 million unwanted pregnancies occur amongst adolescents yearly, suicide is also high amongst young people in Nigeria and poor knowledge of contraception and sanitation is also a challenge.
”The government of Nigeria has given considerable attention to young people and will continue to do so. Today there are more young people in the world than ever before and young people can drive social and economic development if they thrive and grow. However, a few do not reach their full potential”, Ehanire said.
The UNFPA Representative, Ms Ulla Mueller, said that the Covid-19 pandemic proved the resilience of adolescents.
She also said that “quality investment in adolescents requires a multipurpose approach. UNFPA works with other relevant agencies to raise community awareness on the need for responsible transition from adolescence to adulthood”.
She therefore called for a more collaborative effort to address adolescence challenges in Nigeria.
Similarly, UNICEF representative, Dr Victoria Isiramen, said the agency is very happy to be associated with the commemoration of the adolescent health week.
“This is the first time it is being marked in Nigeria despite being in existence for six years”, Isiramen said.
She said UNICEF has the tools to work with and the voices of young people saying what they want.
“We cannot let down the young people”, she added.
The representative of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS, NACA, Mr Alex Ogundipe, said that NACA has always focused on young people to actualise Nigeria’s vision for the youths.
He added that NACA is addressing the issue of user fees to access antiretroviral drugs at hospitals to be able to accommodate young persons living with HIV and AIDS.
The International Adolescent Health Week (IAHW) is an annual health campaign marked every third week of March and consists of active participation in events to inspire adolescents and key stakeholders to advocate for a structured transition into adulthood.
The selected IAHW colour of ‘lime green’ represents the high energy and passion of adolescence.
The theme of the 2021 International Adolescent Health Week is “Adolescent resilience in the face of a pandemic”.
Nneka Ukachukwu
