An appeal has gone to Nigerian governments to integrate Adolescent, Youth Friendly Health Services (AYFHS) in all primary health care centers across the country.
The Novel Association for Youth Advocacy in Nigeria (NAYA) and Women Friendly Initiative (WFI) collectively made the appeal in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital on Monday (February 3, 2020) during a media chat with journalists held at Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) hall, Ilorin.
In her welcome address during the media briefing, the Kwara state Coordinator of NAYA, Mrs Tosin Apiriola Ajayi said AYFHS are facility-based services that effectively attract adolescents and youth to provide them a comfortable service that will meet their needs.
Ajayi mentioned common adolescent health and development issues in kwara and Nigeria as teenage pregnancies, female genital mutilation, HIV and other STIs, unsafe abortion, under-nutrition, Rape and other reproductive health rights violation.
She said it is saddling that all primary health care centers across the country do not integrate Adolescent and youth friendly health services in their centers which prevent the adolescents to access the right health services they need any time the need arises
She therefore called on government at all levels to invest appropriately in the health and development of it’s young people, saying that providing health services to adolescents and other young people is of utmost importance.
Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Women Friendly Initiative (WFI), Dr Francis Eremutha who was represented at the media dialogue by Mrs Rosemary Adejoh, from Abuja, said the health care services for adolescents and young people has been suffering neglect by previous governments at Federal and state levels.
Adejoh called on civil society organizations, and other stakeholders including the media, religious and traditional leaders, as well as development partners to join hands with NAYA and WFI in their efforts to mobilize support for the integration of AYFHS in to Primary Health Care System in kwara state and Nigeria as a whole.
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