Bauchi NGO Educates Adolescent, Young Women On Reproductive Health

• Highlights issues of menstrual cycle, body hygiene, production of reusable sanitary pads

BY ADEYEMI AKANJI, BAUCHI – Adequate training and sensitization of adolescent girls and young women on issues of reproductive health will ultimately strengthen Nigeria’s desire for a healthy society going forward.

Accordingly, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) based in Bauchi State, Nurture and Empower Her Girl-child Initiative (NEHI), supported by another NGO, Ganvi Women and Youths Empowerment Initiative, have taken the sensitisation message to the grassroots for effective service delivery.

Already, about 200 adolescent girls and young women in reproductive ages have been sensitized on menstrual and body hygiene to enable them take good and adequate care of themselves.

The participants also took lessons on knowing their fundamental human rights as well as their rights as girls and women in line with the relevant and existing laws in the country.

Furthermore, they were exposed to relevant skills on the production of reusable sanitary pads to save cost while adequately taking care of themselves during their monthly flow.

Addressing participants at the one day outreach programme held at Bigi community in Bauchi Local Government Area, Executive Director of NEHI, Florence Uzoanya, said the sensitization aimed at exposing the targeted groups to basic things required by them to remain healthy.

She further said; “We came to this community in order to wake up the awareness of the adolescent girls and young women. We want them to be aware that they have rights.”

Harping on the essence of training participants on making reusable sanitary pads, Uzoanya said the plan is to create a source of small income for them as they return to their communities to influence their friends and peers who could not make it to the outreach.

The NEHI Executive Director lamented that; “Adolescent girls are molested freely leading to unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections and other effects.

“Also, we want to reduce the rate of out-of-school among adolescent girls who stopped going to school because of lack of money to buy sanitary pads for their monthly menstrual flow. We want them to go back to school and become our leaders tomorrow, like, Senators, Public officials and other top figures in the society”.

Also engaging the participants, Executive Director of Ganvi Women and Youths Empowerment Initiative, Matshi Mary Tufa emphasized the importance of reproductive health among adolescent and young girls who are in the child bearing ages.

She said the outreach was basically to teach them about taking good care of their body and health to avoid teenage pregnancies as well as being knowledgeable about menstrual hygiene.

For Tufa, training the participants on how to make and use the reusable sanitary pads will no doubt address issues around lack of resources to procure the normal sanitary pads.

According to her, “Our plan is to reduce rate of unwanted pregnancies in the rural areas as well as let the girls know that, they have a future to live for.”

Importantly, she urged well-meaning individuals in the society as well as other NGOs and corporate organisations to support such causes for the good of humanity.

In praising the programme organisers for the initiative, some participants acknowledged that the sensitization and training would go a long way in reshaping their lives about general body and menstrual hygiene.