The Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiatives (NURHI) on Tuesday organised a one-day sensitization programme for journalists in Kaduna on Life Planning for Adolescents and Youth (LPAY).
Speaking at the event, the youth focal person at NURHI in Kaduna, Aisha Salihu Waziri stressed that life planning arms young people with positive life changing information that can help them make informed choices about critical issues in life and future.
According to her, there are complexities around the life of adolescents and youths; stressing the need for them to be given accurate and adequate information on life skills including negotiation skills, self esteem and communication skills among others.
She further explained that the Adolescents and Youth program is focusing on increasing demand for childbirth spacing knowledge amongst married young persons and promoting sexual responsibility (life planning) amongst young people to ensure they make informed decisions about their reproductive health.
“Kaduna state has a population of 7.8million out of which 3.2 are youths. According to the National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS), 42.2percent of young people are sexually active in the state while 54.2 percent of girls aged 15-19 have had sex before the age of 20. LPAY therefore integrates a deliberate and innovative focus on adolescents and youth (aged 15-24) in its strategic approach responding to the needs and increase demand for reproductive health information and services among young people,”
“Life planning skills is about ensuring that our girls that are married off before the age of 18 deliver safely and space their birth to help them reach their maximum potentials in life and also their overall wellbeing. It is also about ensuring every girl hawking on the street knows how to protect herself against unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancy among others,” she said.
