Academy for Health Development and Lagos State Ministry of Health with the support of The Partnership for Advocacy in Child Family Health at Scale present Project AAYRHAN – Advancing Adolescent and Youth Reproductive Health Advocacy in Nigeria
Video excerpt from the Project AAYRHAN Press Briefing Development Meeting
On the 22nd and 23rd of October 2019, teachers from Oranmiyan College, Anglican Central and St Stephen’s Middle School came together for the training on the chosen curricula of Water and Sanitation Hygiene, Bullying and Violence and Gender. This training was a crucial step in the continuation of the implementation phase of the Starting Right at Schools (StaRS) project. The aim of the training was to teach the teachers with the curricula that they would use in training the students on the selected issues. It was also an opportunity for them to get familiar with the material, understand how to contextualize it to their schools and to work out whatever ambiguity they may face in the course of implementation.
WATER AND SANITATION HYGIENE (WASH)
The presentation of the Water and Sanitation Hygiene (WASH) curriculum was delivered by Ms. Sola Olanrewaju, the Head, Program Development and Implementation at the Academy for Health Development. The modules of the WASH curriculum include washing hands, personal hygiene, hygiene and sanitation, puberty and menstrual hygiene management and how basic toilets and good hygiene practices are essential for the survival and development of children.
The WASH manual will serve as a practical guide to be used by teachers and school health assistants who are involved in the promotion of water, sanitation and hygiene practices (WASH). It is designed to provide the necessary background to WASH topics for teachers and school health assistants. The objectives of the manual include
The presentation was filled with stories and activities like washing hands to a song, role playing and storytelling.
BULLYING AND VIOLENCE
Ms. Seun Davies, the Senior Program Associate, Program and Capacity Development at AHEAD presented the curriculum on Bullying and Violence. The curriculum covered the different forms of violence and bullying, how to recognize and address them, how to self-assess oneself to determine if one bullies, how to advocate against bullying and the roles of the teachers in bullying situations.
The curriculum also included an anti-bullying pledge to be taken by the students and the institution of anti-bullying clubs and ambassadors who would work with the teachers to identify and mitigate acts of bullying and violence.
The presentation was made interesting with the use of tests, checklists and role-playing.
GENDER
The Program Associate, Program Development and Implementation Mrs. Olamide Akanbi presented the Gender Curriculum. The curriculum includes modules like understanding gender and gender division of labour, Knowing your body and Gender-based violence
The curriculum highlighted the difference between gender and sex, how their perceptions influence attitudes, behaviours and expectations and addressed terms like gender equality and gender equity. The objectives of the curriculum were
The curriculum was rich in storytelling activities.
CONCLUSION
At the end of the training, the Middle Schools’ Director who was present to give support to her colleagues, thanked the Academy for Health Development and her sponsors for the empowerment of the teachers and she encouraged the teachers to be fine conduits of the information they had received. She emphasized the need for them to not only cater to the academic needs of their students, but to ensure the students also enjoyed emotional and psychological support from them.
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
The Academy for Health Development in conjunction with the Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health (PACFaH) at Scales partners with eight youth led organization, Gender Mobile Initiative, Improved Sexual Health and Right Advocacy Initiative, Safe Hands Initiative, Safer Hands Initiative, Society for Information and Human Advancement Initiative, sustainable Impact and Development Initiative, Sparkle Foundation, Paaneah Foundation and Youth Network on HIV-AIDS in Nigeria, to advance the course of family planning and promote its agenda in Lagos state.
A call for expression of interest was made to youth-led 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. The eight aforementioned organizations were found eligible with track record that meets the stated criteria. 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 selected 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
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:
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
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.
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!
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!
The Starting Right at School (StaRS) Project is a study aimed at understanding the gender socialization norm among very young adolescents. It is funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and implemented in three different countries. In Nigeria, it is currently being carried out by the Academy for Health Development (AHEAD) in Osun state, Nigeria.
The project which is comprised of 3 stages; baseline, intervention and endline phases has just rounded up the baseline phase.
BASELINE
STEP 1: FIELD WORK
In January following a week-long training of research assistants, field work was carried out in 8 selected schools (5 served as control schools and 3 served as intervention schools). Using a questionnaire developed by the World Health Organization and adapted by AHEAD, the researchers sought to understand the young adolescents’ point of view on sexual and reproductive health, gender norms, bullying and violence and other matters regarding gender socialization. A total of 1032 adolescents were interviewed.
Following this, a few of the young adolescents were selected and taught the art of photovoice and how it can be used as a tool for advocacy.
The students then went into their schools and communities and identified and photographed issues surrounding sexual and reproductive health, gender socialization and gender norms.
STEP 2: ANALYSIS
The study analysis showed that of the 1032 students interviewed in the 8 schools studied, 3.49% of students had had sexual intercourse while about 9.3% claimed to have friends or know someone who had had sexual intercourse.
The boys who reported experiencing bullying were about 82.3% of those interviewed and 81.3% of girls interviewed reported the same. This is similar to global statistics.
STEP 3: COMMUNITY DIALOGUE
In June, after analysis of the results had been done, AHEAD invited the students, parents, teachers and principals, school board, education commission and other stake holders to a community dialogue to present the findings from the study, the challenges and risks from the captured gendered norms and their proposed solutions to effectively tackling these issues.The Community dialogue was opened by the Permanent Secretary of State Universal Basic Education Board, represented by the Osun State Middle Schools Director, Mrs A. K. Oladimeji who thanked AHEAD for the initiative. She reminded teachers that a lot of students have more belief in them than in their parents and that even though gender roles are mostly determined by culture, parents and religions, the negative ones need to be rectified.
AHEAD gave a presentation on the objectives of the study and the different stages of the project. It was explained that the community dialogue signified the end of the first stage, the base-line stage and that it would be followed by the implementation and the end-line stages.
A presentation by the students followed immediately, explaining the photos they had taken using photovoice to depict issues surrounding gender socialization and gender norms that they identified in their schools and communities; the pictures were grouped in five thematic areas:
Days 2 and 3 were aimed at developing interventions; Dr Obioma Uchendu of the Inspire Network gave an insightful presentation on violence in children and adolescents and shared the seven inspire strategies for addressing this problem.
A member of the AHEAD team gave a presentation on identifying and promoting the opportunities that exist for the fostering of gender equity in schools using the Gender Equity Movement in Schools (GEMS) as a reference.
Stakeholders were grouped according to the schools they represented and they discussed and outlined the gender socialization challenges faced by their schools in order of priority; they also shared their visions for the schools and designed a road map tailored after evidence-based strategies for gender-socialization for the realization for the visions shared.
We are moving to the second phase of the StaRS Project; the implementation phase.This will consist of the collaboration of the organization and the school stakeholders to judiciously and effectively channel the funds into selected appropriate and sustainable interventions. Implementation will run for about 6 months after which the endline phase of the project will commence and this will be a post-implementation analysis of the project, its impact and recommendations on sustainability and future projects.
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 1st 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 1st biennial 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.
The1st 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.
