Group charges adolescents on HIV, gender-based violence prevention

Youth Development and Empowerment Initiative (YEDI) has charged young people to take ownership of the fight against HIV/AIDS and Gender-Based Violence (GBV), stressing the need for all hands to be on deck to educate and empower adolescents to prevent and respond to these challenges.

Executive Director of YEDI, Tomisin Adeoye, made the call at the closing ceremony of a five-day “Skillz Holiday Camp” held at the Junior Secondary School, Dutse Sagwari, Bwari Area Council in Abuja at the weekend.

The event organised by YEDI with support from Grassroot Soccer and FIFA Foundation brought over 100 adolescents in Abuja, with a similar program held in Lagos benefiting 150 beneficiaries.

The training featured sexual and reproductive health and rights education, health literacy, human immunodeficiency virus, HIV, and malaria testing, as well as fun games and activities

While emphasising the need for young people to take ownership of their health and well-being, Adeoye disclosed that the organisation has been able to reach out to over 450,000 beneficiaries since YEDI’s establishment, addressing critical issues affecting adolescents.

She said: “SKILLZ holiday camp is one of the approaches that we use to engage young people. We know that during the long vacation, young people are free so we engage them using the SKILlZ curriculum.

“We partner with other organisations as well. This is not only happening in Abuja. It’s also happening in Lagos. We partner to pass across information to young people on sexual reproductive health, financial literacy, puberty, and menstrual hygiene. Then on this last day, we provide HIV testing for free for as many young people that we have their parental consent.

“We have been able to impact over 450,000 adolescents across Nigeria in 13 years with SKILLZ programmes in different areas, including malaria prevention, HIV prevention, sexual reproductive health, and gender-based violence, among others.”

Adeoye, who stressed that YEDI’s approach is holistic, said that by investing in adolescents, the country would be able to build a healthier, more informed future for the upcoming generations.

She added the youth must also be impacted with the knowledge and skills to make healthy decisions, and avoid risky behaviours such as substance abuse, unprotected sex, and violent relationships.

A parent to one of the participants, Sarah David, expressed her gratitude towards the organisation for empowering her children.

“It has been of great help to my children,” she said.

“Honestly, when I saw them and the way they were talking, I was so impressed. I was happy. They said a lot of things about how there are some ways that are not good to handle children. They also learned about HIV prevention and the influence of bad friends, as well as how to avoid them.

“My child is now aware that vision is a mental picture of her future, and the only way for her to really achieve her vision is for her to move with the right friends.”

A participant in the program, Emmanuella Agada, also shared her thoughts on what she learnt: “I have gained so much knowledge from this program.

“I learned about sexually transmitted diseases, which was really eye-opening for me. HIV is a deadly disease and we were told that abstinence is the best prevention.”