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Reproductive health vis-a vis poor living conditions in our communities of Nigeria is one major issue that needs to be addressed, because there is link between poverty and immorality.
In remote communities like mine, what we usually do is to go to farm in the morning, work the whole day, thereafter parents go to there different meeting point to relax and wine. Sexual activities is like a norm among youths and we don’t have good information on sexually transmitted infections or even sex education as it were. The only information you get from the older people is ‘don’t indulge in sex, because if you do, anything that comes out of it you will face it yourself’, and ‘anything’ might be pregnancy, which is widely known to us, forgetting the other RH issues. Some of the older ones might even encourage the youth to have sex, telling them it is a sign of maturity!! Is it?.
Here, the young people are the most affected and this makes the theme for this year's International Youth Day, “Sustainability: our Challenge our Future”, as an important step toward a greater and better community. If only the government would listen to our cry and make thing easy for us, by including the welfare of young peoples health in the policy and also make sure it is implemented, especially as it regards providing information and services that can help us make informed choices.
Reproductive health information and services should be able to reach every part of the country. I have observed that there is an uneven distribution of health services in Nigeria, making sexual health information inaccessible to the young people in most urban centers, but what happens in most rural areas? Also, having the health service center is not enough to solve problems, there is a need for complete service providing equipment, experience and funding for manpower, so as to make the center friendly to youths for effective information delivery.
To wrap it up, reproductive health information is the best way to secure youth from health related issues and to make sure the spread is reduced to a minimal level. A healthy Nation they say is a wealthy Nation. We can get the change we seek, lets join hands as advocates!
vanessaaishacoleman
| 8/11/09 04:31 PM
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