……advocate for adolescent reproductive health budget line
By Bashir Hassan Abubakar
Youth Group in Bauchi , with support from USAID funded Integrated Health Program (USAID IHP) have commemorated this year’s International Adolescent Health Week.
First in the series of the
activities was a sensitization and awareness creation meeting targeted at adolescents and youths.
In a welcome remark before the commencement of the meeting held recently at the conference hall of Hazibal Bauchi, State Technical Director of USAID IHP Task order 3, Dr. Ibrahim Kabo implore the youth to always focused on health challenges hampering their ability to reach their full potential in life, with a view to proffering solutions towards mitigating such challenges.
Dr. Kabo said the goal of the meeting was to promote adolescence health and engage the youth on issues relating to their own health and development.
He then enjoined the participants to be innovative in their approach to solving challenges that effect their health through effective collaboration with the State actors and other key stakeholders in the state.
Mrs Olabisi Alalade, the IHP Integrated PHC Advisor, said the objective of the meeting was to sensitize and increase awareness of the general pubic on issues around adolescents and young people.
Mrs. Alalade also said that the meeting will seek to improve community participation and ownership on adolescents’ health programming in Bauchi State.
During the meeting, participants were taken through topics on menstruation, menstrual hygiene and standard days method.
Other topics presented during the meeting include: Sexually Transmitted Infections and Drug use and Abuse.
The climax of the event was an advocacy visit by the youth to the Bauchi State commissioner of health, Dr. Sabiu Gwalabe, where they solicited, from the state government, a dedicated budget line for adolescent reproductive health in the State annual budget.
Speaking on behalf of the group during the advocacy visit, youth ambassador, Faruk Sulaiman further requested for additional youth friendly Primary Healthcare Centres in the remaining fourteen LGAs, where Adolescent Reproductive Health will be integrated and overseen by trained service providers, as it is obtained in six LGAs of Bauchi State.
Sulaiman further intimate the commissioner that twenty one Adolescents and Youth, trained by IHP in 2021, were made Ambassadors to encourage their peers to utilize the youth friendly health facilities.
Responding, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Sabi’u Gwalabe said the youth requests would be granted accelerated consideration and appreciated their dedication and resilience towards adolescent and youth reproductive health.