By Ayinde Muhammed
As the world marks World Population Day 2025, development communication experts from The Challenge Initiative (TCI) and other partners are calling on policymakers, civil society, donors, and the media to step up efforts and investments in youth health and wellbeing.
The call was made in a press statement issued
and signed on Friday (July 11, 2025) by the Programme Director TCI, Akin Jimoh to commemorate the World Population Day 2025.
According to the press statement, ensuring equitable access to family planning services is not only a public health necessity, but also a foundation for sustainable development.
“Young people must be at the centre of development,” says Suliyat Eletu, Communications Program Officer at DevComs. “Their choices matter. Their dreams matter. And with the right support, they will lead the way toward healthier families and thriving communities.”
DevCom through the National Population Commission in Nigeria and global partners advance the call for leaders to prioritize young people’s needs and voices in ensuring that youth have the rights, tools, and opportunities to shape their futures.
“Under the global theme “Empowering young people to create the families they want in a fair and hopeful world,” we wish to recognize that efforts across Nigeria are gaining momentum in ensuring that adolescents and young adults have the information and resources they need to make informed reproductive health choices.
Dr. Taiwo Johnson, a public health expert and Country Director of TCI Nigeria said that empowering young people with knowledge and access to services is not just a health issue-it’s a rights issue,” .
According to Dr Taiwo , TCI is funded by the Gates Foundation and Bayer and the Nigeria hub accelerates the scale-up of approaches and provide guidance to self-selected states, Local Government Areas (LGAs), and partners willing to invest in family planning.
“When young people are supported to make informed decisions, they become agents of change in their communities” Taiwo adds.
Dr Taiwo explained that across Nigeria and Africa, community-led programs, youth networks, and health system reforms are actively bridging the gap between knowledge and access.
“Programs such as Life Planning for Adolescents and Youth (LPAY), initiated by TCI to equip young people with comprehensive sexuality education, are being scaled up in several states.
“Social and digital media platforms are increasingly used to challenge persistent myths and stigma around contraceptive use. Health workers are receiving training to offer respectful and confidential youth-friendly services, while local influencers and community leaders are helping normalize conversations about family planning in traditionally conservative spaces.”
“Through its support for institutional capacity building, strategic media engagement, and community mobilization, TCI has proven to be a key player in the ecosystem of youth-centred reproductive health interventions,”Taiwo adds.
Abiodun Ajayi, LPAY Champion and Executive Director of Public Health Sustainable Advocacy Initiative (PHSAI), based in Lagos noted that “This World Population Day is a reminder that young people’s needs must not be sidelined”.
“We need investment in education, in health systems, and in policies that give us the tools to thrive,” He added.
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