Organisation trains 50 women on sexual reproductive health, advocacy

As part of its plan to increase awareness on sexual and reproductive health as well as help women to make right choices and avoid sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancy at a young age, the Sustainable Impact and Development Initiative has trained 50 adolescent girls and young women in Abesan community of Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos on the subjects.

It's believed that Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in marginalised communities have limited understanding of and access to information on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), which makes it challenging for them to make healthy choices, thereby leaving them exposed to risky sexual behaviours such as unprotected sexual intercourse, early sexual debut, and multiple sexual partners.

These behaviours often lead to unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortion, and sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS.

It's unfortunate that most of the existing programmes on AGYW have focused on schools while very few programs target out-of-school AGYW especially in marginalised communities.

To address this, SID Initiative, with support from We Lead, organised a three-day training which was aimed at building the capacity of 50 AGYW on SRHR advocacy in Abesan Community, Alimosho Local Government Area, Lagos, Nigeria.

The girls were trained by seasoned experts on SRHR discussing bodily autonomy, consent, and access to contraceptives, including sexual and gender-based violence. On the other hand, the girls developed a 5-point Advocacy ASK which was presented to the LCDA Chairman at their graduation and community stakeholders dialogue.

The LCDA Chairman, Alhaji Feyobi T.A, commended SID Initiative for bringing the SRHR training to his community. He added that “being an Advocate challenges you to be a changemaker and a role model to other members of the community by virtue of the training”.

In his remarks, Greenland LCDA Chairman, Pastor Kehinde Ogundimu, said to the girls graduating that, “Understanding your purpose and the responsibilities ahead of you is key, be prepared for the challenges you might encounter, and be determined to be of positive impact”.

In response to what next, Juliana, one of the graduating advocates, said, “I hope to use sport (football) one of the things the youths are so much in love with as a means of reaching out to young people on SRHR matters.”

For Juliana, that is her strength and she is determined to make it work out because the issue of rape is of major concern to her and she hopes to curb its rise in her community.

In her closing remarks, Blessing Ashi, SID Initiative’s representative said, “Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Nigeria need to be engaged in becoming powerful agents in improving their own sexual and reproductive health, and in crafting solutions that may be effective in enabling them to achieve their full potential and rights to health and well-being.”

The Sustainable Impact and Development Initiative for Adolescent and Youth is a youth-led non-governmental organisation that is dedicated to advancing the sexual reproductive health and rights of adolescents and young people in urban and rural communities in Nigeria. Our vision is to build a society where every young person can reach their full potential free of sexual health challenges regardless of their socio-economic status.

We Lead is an innovative and far-reaching program that aims to strengthen the influence and position of young women whose sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRH-R) are neglected the most. It targets young women and adolescent girls who: live with HIV; identify as lesbian, bisexual, trans, or intersex (LBTI); live with a disability; and/or are affected by displacement.