THE Deputy Director for Adolescent 360 Project, Mrs Rakiya Idris, has implored parents to educate adolescent girls about contraceptives and reproductive health during the closure of the project, which had ran for five years in eight states in Nigeria.
Idris debunked the notion that teaching adolescent girls about contraceptives and reproductive health would make them promiscuous.
“When we teach adolescent girls about contraceptives and family planning, we are trying to give them information about sexual and reproductive health issues, so that if they are sexually active, they know where to go for advice. It is likely that most parents didn’t grow up with their parents listening to them, so, they shun off their children when they ask about sexual and reproductive health issues, which is not supposed to be so.
“For our project, we emphasise that any girl below 18 must get assent from the parents before we give them contraceptives and other family planning services. When you give them the information, you give them the strength to stand in front of anybody and tell them the right thing to do,” Idris said.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi, represented by the Director, Family Health and Nutrition, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr Folasade Oludara, at the event said the state government would continue to prioritise the health needs of adolescents.
He said: “The state government is particular about the health needs of both boys and girls, it is just that in our society, girls are at the forefront because of their nature and because they are the most vulnerable when you look at both sexes.
“This project operated in Agege and Alimosho Local Government Areas of the state, they have been able to partner the state government in the area of adolescent and sexual reproductive health by enlightening the girls and teaching handwork to keep them busy.”
