Event

Cheering news – Involvement of young people in family and life planning in Nigeria

The Advancing Adolescent and Youth Reproductive Health Advocacy in Nigeria (PROJECT AAYRHAN) is a collaboration between the Academy for Health Development (AHEAD) and Partnership At Scale (PAS). Partnership At Scale (PAS) is a Health accountability project with a timeline of 2017-2022 whose issue areas are Family Planning, Routine immunization, among others. Academy for Health Development (AHEAD) is a non-for-profit research and health development organisation with a mission to improve health systems and health development. AHEAD engages in health system strengthening, research, programme implementation, capacity building, and translating knowledge into effective policies and programmes. Adolescent development is a priority at AHEAD.

PROJECT AAYRHAN is aimed at empowering young people to advocate for family planning policies in Lagos. We believe that if the capacity of young people and organizations with potentials for impact in the Adolescent and Youth Sexual Reproductive Health field is built in identifying, tracking and advocating for youth focused family planning policies in Lagos state, then there would be (i) More empowered young people with the capacity to drive relevant changes and influence their peers; (ii) Awareness and monitoring of the implementation of youth related family planning policies in Lagos; and (iii) Effective implementation and accountability of youth related family planning policies in Lagos State. These we hope to achieve by implementing evidence-based family and life planning initiatives.

The overarching aim of the workshop was to initiate the development process of 40 Family Planning Youth Advocates in Lagos State. The objectives were to:

· Expose the young people to field experience in Adolescent Health and Family practices in Lagos State.

· Create a linkage among PROJECT AAYRHAN, Family planning Youth Advocates in Lagos State and the Adolescent Health Unit of the Lagos State Ministry of Health.

· Train the Youth Advocates on developing high impact action plans

The workshop held between the 24th to 27th of September 2019 at the Bible Guest House, Palm Groove, Lagos State and was targeted at 40 young persons from 9 different youth organisations in Lagos State that focus on Sexual and Reproductive Health of young people.

The workshop had presentation sessions on topics related to key issues in Adolescent family planning and Action plan development were held.

At the end of the workshop, the participants were able to develop two high impact action plans for advancing advocacy on young people family planning policies in Lagos State. They also showed creativity by making a short video to support contraceptive effective policies in Lagos State in support of the World Contraceptive day.

The workshop also birthed positive outcomes like building a collaborative link between the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Youth groups in Lagos and AHEAD-PAS project.

The next steps for PROJECT AARYHAN are to provide funding for the implementation of the two Action plans drafted by the young people and technical support for the implementation of the Action Plans and to ensure continuous engagement of the committed young people in the AARYHAN Project.

Access Workshop Materials Here

During the workshop, our youth advocates commemorated the World Contraception Day by lending their voices on Sexual and Reproductive Health Right issues; contraceptive commodities and condition in Nigeria. See video below

Some youth advocates at the event shared their experiences from the Workshop. See below.

PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE WORKSHOP

AHEAD Meets with the School Principals and Leaders of the State Education Board

As a follow-up to the assessment of school facilities, the organization held a Project Intervention Discussion with the principals and leaders of the state education board to discuss the intervention plans for the school. The most recurrent issues among the schools were Water and
Sanitation Hygiene, Bullying and Violence and issues surrounding Gender.

Based on these findings, the AHEAD team developed a body of interventions that were divided into 3 classes:

Physical Interventions which include provision of sanitary facilities like hand-wash basins and Information Education Communication (IEC) materials.
Policy which covers the setting up of laws and rules to ensure adherence and compliance with the interventions.

Training curricula which would be taught to the teachers who would then teach the students to ensure mind-shifts and improve acceptance of the interventions.

The curricula developed were divided into the 3 thematic areas of WASH, Gender, Bullying & Violence as identified to be addressed in the project. These curricula will be delivered to the teachers in a series of trainings and they in turn will deliver it to the students through the agreed delivery methods.

The curriculum will be delivered by the schools during the periods assigned for extracurricular activities, holding fortnightly, after which, clubs would be formed to encourage and advocate for good practices of what would have been taught. Teaching aids such as video, charts and materials would be employed for the demonstration of specific topics like hand washing and menstrual hygiene

PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE MEETING

AHEAD begins the Implementation Stage of the StaRS Project

Following the Community Dialogue program, the Academy for Health Development in conjunction with the Osun State Education Board and other stakeholders have begun the implementation stage of the Starting Right at School (StaRS) project.

The first step was to carry out a Water and Sanitation NEEDS assessment of the three schools where intervention is to be carried out. This NEEDS assessment was done to examine the state of the water and sanitation hygiene facilities in the schools and to propose the most cost-effective sustainable interventions as allowed by the grant of $1000 for each school. The three schools assessed were Anglican Government Central Middle School, St Stephen’s Middle School and Oranmiyan Middle School, Osun state, Nigeria.

Some of the WASH challenges found in the schools included: a lack of proper waste management, faulty plumbing systems, improperly combined male and female toilet facilities, and faulty toilet facilities.

The interventions to be put in place to tackle these WASH challenges would be: provision of an incinerator to facilitate proper waste disposal system; repair/replacement of leaking pipes and toilet facilities as the case may be; training of school staff on the importance separating staff toilets from students’ and distinguishing male and female toilet facilities as a way of promoting healthy social and reproductive health and hygiene.

Photo Highlights from the Visits

1st Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin Legacy Forum

The Academy for Health Development (AHEAD) in conjunction with the Partnership For Advocacy in Child and Family Health @ Scale (PASA) organised the 1^st edition of the Professor Babatunde Osotimehin Legacy Forum. It was held on the 19^th of July, 2019 at the Conference Centre in the University of Ibadan.

In her remarks, Mrs Funke Osotimehin advocated for the education of Family Planning to be extended to not just young and teenage girls, but also to their mothers.

In his goodwill message, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of health, through his representative Dr Kayode Afolabi recognized the contributions of Prof. Osotimehin to the health sector through his leadership at the National Action Committee on AIDS (NACA), as the Honourable Minister of Health, and as the UNFPA Executive Director. He said the FMOH is committed to ensuring Nigeria achieves the modern contraceptive prevalence rate of 27% by the year 2020.

Dr Omolola Omosehin, speaking on behalf of the UNFPA said the organization would remember Prof. Osotimehin for his tenacious advocacy for the health of women, for gender equality and youth and women empowerment. He described Prof. Osotimehin as a man of vision who was politically astute and incredibly eloquent.

Other goodwill messages came in from guests present, like the Provost of the College of Medicine at the University of Ibadan and the former Vice-Chancellor of Igbenedion University, Professor Eghosa Osarumen.

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

Prof. Otolorin who delivered the keynote address talked about a lot of family planning variables and their impact on the country. He said our rapid population growth is a barrier to our development as our economy is growing below the population growth rate. He identified an inverse relationship between the rate of contraception use and degree of education and economic status and emphasized the needs to improve the numbers.

PANEL DISCUSSION

Discussions by the panel made up of state and private actors in the Family Planning sector surrounded issues such as adopting a multi-sectorial sector-wide approach to implementing administrative and financial policies, public health financing, the role of the private sector in advocacy and implementation of family planning, the factors that affect the use of contraceptives among young people, innovations in the uptake and use of family planning methods and the need for collaboration rather than competition in the advancement of family planning goals.

VOICES FROM THE FIELD

Private organizations and Civil Society Organizations also presented their works and researches around family planning advocacy and implementation across the country.

JOURNAL LAUNCH

The Forum came to an end with a launch of a special edition of the African Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences Supplement. The edition holds works of about 30 authors and was compiled in honour of Prof. Osotimehin who was a one-time editor of the journal.

A review of the 1st Professor Babatunde Osotimehin Legacy Forum would not be complete without highlighting the camaraderie and warm collegiality among discussants at the event.

PHOTOS FROM THE 1ST PROFESSOR BABATUNDE OSOTIMEHIN LEGACY FORUM

We look forward to your contribution to and participation in next year’s event, which promises to be more exciting still.

ADVANCING ADOLESCENT AND YOUTH REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ADVOCACY IN NIGERIA THROUGH EVIDENCE-BASED FAMILY AND LIFE PLANNING INITIATIVES (PROJECT AAYRHAN)

A call for expression of interest is being made to youth organisations based in Lagos, with over 10 members, who are engaged in young people programme implementation; youth sexual and reproductive health; HIV/AIDS, family planning and youth advocacy. Eligible organisations with track record that meets the stated criteria should apply. A team of 40 young people would be chosen from across organisations to build the Family Planning Youth Advocates for the project.

Comprehensive training on leadership skills, developing high impact action plans, Lagos State family planning policies and programmes, developing an issue brief and policy brief on family planning issues in Lagos, amongst others, would be held for the Family Planning Youth Advocates. Furthermore, the Youth Advocates would be engaged in programme implementation, conducting research, advocacy visits to policymakers and duty bearers on Family planning in Lagos State during the period of the project.

We believe that if the capacity of young people and organisations with potentials for impact in the Adolescent and Youth Sexual and Reproductive Health (AYSRH) field is built in identifying, tracking and advocating for youth focused family planning policies in Lagos, then there would be (i) more empowered young people with capacity to drive relevant changes and influence their peers, (ii) awareness and monitoring of the implementation of youth related family planning policies in Lagos, and (iii) effective implementation and accountability of youth related family planning policies in Lagos State.

NEW DATE!
Registration is open until August 7th, 2019!

INSTRUCTION TO PARTICIPATE

1. ELIGIBILITY
* Advocate organisation must have made significant contributions to family planning in any of the following categories: Advocacy, Programming/Program Implementation, Research, Service Delivery, Demand Generation, Policy/Government, Media
* Advocate organisation must have staff within the age range of 15 – 30 years old
* Advocate organisation must be committed to release selected staff for project activities within Lagos whenever is required within the project time line of July 2019 to December 2019

2. RECORD A MINUTE PITCH (VIDEO) HIGHLIGHTING HOW YOUR ORGANISATION HAVE MADE SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO FAMILY PLANNING IN ANY OF THE CATEGORIES ABOVE!

* Follow us @ahead_nigeria on our Social platforms,
* Tag us in your video using hashtag #AheadFPAdvocate
3. Download Statement of Support and Signatures of Head and Key Persons in the Organisation Here. It’s a prequisite for submitting your form!

Download Statement of Support

1st National Conference on Adolescent Health and Development in Nigeria

Academy for Health Development (AHEAD) being a knowledge management and health development organisation, has overtime successfully managed health and scientific conferences. One of those is the 1^st National Conference on Adolescent Health and Development in Nigeria, themed “Leaving No Young Person Behind. Advancing Adolescent Health in Nigeria in the SDG Era”, which was presented by the Society for Adolescent and Young Peoples’ Health in Nigeria (SAYPHIN). The conference which held at the Otunba Subomi Balogun Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria, from April 10 to 13, 2019, was preceded by a youth pre-conference session on the 10th of April, 2019.

SAYPHIN which is a multidisciplinary, non-governmental organization with a broad focus on adolescents and young people’s health, thereby presented the 1^stbiennial conference which aimed at bringing a significant number of stakeholders together to address key issues regarding the health and development of adolescents and young people in Nigeria. AHEAD was responsible for planning, managing and coordinating the conference activities, which included mobilising stakeholders, amongst other logistics. The conference featured scientific abstract presentations, several parallel and plenary sessions, as well as panel discussions on the issues pertaining to adolescents and young people’s health and development.

The conference had the representative of the Minister of Health present, in person of Prof. Victor Adetiloye who is the Chief Medical Director of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex, Ile Ife. Other notables present included Dr. Olusola Odujirin, who was the keynote speaker; Prof Oladapo Ladipo, the Chairman, Board of Trustee, SAYPHIN; among others.

The conference was a huge success as it was graced by Ministries and Organisations including the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) Nigeria, United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Nigeria, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Nigeria, AIDS Preventive Initiative (APIN) Nigeria, BraveHeart Initiative, Nigeria, Paaneah Foundation, Nigeria, among other health organisations. Participants, especially the adolescents and young people from various higher institutions of learning in Nigeria were also present at the Conference.

The1^st National Conference on Adolescent Health and Development, which lasted for three days, ended on a successful note, the next edition slated to come up in Abuja in the year 2021.

AHEAD Commemorates World Tuberculosis Day in Grand Style

Academy for Health Development in partnership with Paaneah Foundation, Nigeria commemorated World TB Day 2018 themed “Wanted: Leaders for a TB-Free World” by organising local events to raise awareness about tuberculosis, including the importance of getting tested, adhering to treatment, and the need for new technologies to address the epidemic.

In Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria, the team stormed the schools, market places and parks for a week-long campaign to commemorate the World Tuberculosis Day. School students, traders, drivers and members of the community were trained on the subject of tuberculosis. They were enlightened on the life-threatening nature of tuberculosis and the importance of getting tested and adhering to treatment. We provided platforms for participants to ask pertinent questions which ultimately have a bearing on the quality of life they would live. They were also enlightened on important facts about tuberculosis, while myths surrounding tuberculosis were dispelled.

Following the campaign, in conjunction with the TB team of the Local Government we conducted a free TB/HIV screening exercise. Furthermore students, and other members of the community suspected to have TB were requested to provide samples of their sputum for more comprehensive tests and follow-up.

The program was so impactful that the community leaders and school heads expressed immense gratitude to AHEAD for taking up the initiative to commemorate such event for the benefit of the community. In an interview with one of the students, who were the beneficiaries of the event, she noted that the event of the day widened her knowledge about TB. Majority of the students disclosed that prior to the program they had no knowledge on the subject matter of TB and the key facts. They expressed their desire that more of such platforms be created especially for vulnerable populations who are not privileged to assess quality information.