The year 2020 is the targeted year by global community to ensure at least 120 million more women around the world are empowered to enjoy the full advantages of reproductive health benefits.
The idea of FP2020 is specifically to make the last mile closer than thought because family planning or child spacing and reproductive health are inseparable companions that allow women especially the young girls achieve their full life potentials.
According to the Nigeria Demographic Health Survey 2018, “the total fertility rate for the three years preceding the survey is 5.3 children per woman (4.5 in urban areas and 5.9 in rural areas).
“Fertility decreases with increasing education and wealth. Whereas on age at first birth the median age at first birth among 25-49 is 20.4years, it follows that half of women between 25-49 give birth the first time before 21.
On teenage child bearing, 19% of all teenage women age 15-19 have begun child bearing; 14 % have given birth and 4% are pregnant with their first child”.
The NDHS recognises also that the number of children a woman would have depends on a number of factors such as the age she starts; how long she waits in-between births as well as how fertile a woman is. All of these however do have consequences on her health outcomes.
This explains why a number of stakeholders within the country have been intensifying innovative efforts to ensure the country meets her set target of 27% contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR), that is, 27 of every 100 women have access to contraception at the end of 2020. Currently the CPR hovers around 16% according to the Nigeria Demographic Health Indices 2018.
According to The 9ija Girls programme of the A360 Project, Programmes Director, Society for Family Health, (SFH) Hajia Fatima Mohammed at a recent programme for adolescent girls at the Ikotun Local Council Development Area of Lagos State, the idea of the project is to give sufficient skills and empowerment to young girls of the teenage years to ensure they are adequately prepared to look after their reproductive health.
The empowerment includes Life Skills for trade to make money, Love- to prepare for relationships, reproduction and birth spacing or family planning as well as the health components, which enables the young girls understand how their body functions for reproduction so as to maintain healthy living always.
Hajiya Mohammed noted that there is no longer any pretense that many young girls who are married early or become pregnant when not prepared and have no skills to enable them take care of themselves or contribute to the family income often end up becoming burden to themselves and the society.
According to Mohammed, “Principally, the SFH A360 project has components of Family Planning, Behavioural Change, Cultural Orientation /Context and meaningful youth engagement”.
She explained that the project uses a multi-disciplinary approach like the Human Center Design and Youth engagement approaches to design the 9ija Girls for unmarried young girls and the Matasa Matan Arewa Programme for married adolescent girls in Nigeria.
“In the project, the idea is to ensure young girls of sexually active ages (15-19) have access to modern contraception relevant and accessible to adolescent girls with unmet needs”. Said Mohammed.
She explained that community social mobilisers who know the girls encourage them to visit the centres for skills acquisition (such as tye and dye, shoe and slippers making, soap making, bead making among other empowerment programmes).
Some of the girls who came to the Youth Acquisition Centre were seen learning turban making, bead and print designs and during session on Love and Health, freely asked questions around issues of reproductive health, menstrual cycles, hygiene and relationships.
A Provider at the centre, Paulina Adeyemi in her late 20’s said she freely relates with the young girls who can call her for private discussions after they have been to the centre for the empowerment programmes and have learnt some life coaching skills but still need a confidant to talk to.
Some mothers were seen coming to get information during the Mothers’ session which according to Paulina help improve communication skills between mothers and their daughters.
Modinat Abisoye is a 45-year-old trader who has two girls ages, 18 and 16, noted that before attending one of the Mothers’ Sessions, she never tried to engage her daughters in conversation around relationships and reproductive health issues.
“I assumed the girls will pick up the right education from School because nobody taught me these things when I was growing up. But since I came to the 9ja Girls Empowerment programme on invitation by a friend, I was able to learnt why it is important to be the first love to my daughters. I can talk to them now and they confide in me”. Abisoye said.
Mrs. Oladapo Olanrewaju is another 50-year-old School Teacher with two daughters ages 20 and 18 who expressed delight that the experience gathered at the centre made her introduce her younger daughter to become a member of the Teens Club.
“My 16-year-old daughter has acquired skills in beads making and make-up artistry. She makes beads she sells and help dress up women and tie their head gear at parties. Aside, she knows how to shun unnecessary male admirers and confide in me any attempt of molestations”, Olanrewaju said.
15 year-old IfeOluwa Owolabi with the consent of her mother, Abike has been a regular beneficiary of skills acquisition at the centre.
“Right now, I am learning to be a make-up artist as well as how to make air freshener and beads. I actually loved to be a make-up artist so I make money also from tying gele (head tie) for fees”, said IfeOluwa.
The attraction that kept IfeOluwa close to the centre which makes her visit thrice a week for two hours is not only about the skills she is privileged to pick.
“Before now, I used to feel lots of pain when it comes to my monthly period and I had no idea of what to do. I told the friend who brought me here and during a session of Love and Health, I was told what to do.
Like Paulina noted, many of the young girls who have become sexually active at very young ages due to improper parental guidance are encouraged to pick up of contraceptive services alongside skills to be self-independent and be able to protect themselves.
“The various methods such as Pills, Injectable, Condoms and other Long Lasting Methods are available to such girls who need them (not all the girls pick up the services if they are not into teenage sex) to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancy as well as sexually transmitted infections”, said Paulina.
Some benefits of Reproductive Health to women and girls include: improving health outcomes for women on the long run, improving family and community wellbeing, saving lives of women and children, improving access to good Nutrition and overall boosting economic gains of the country.
