The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has advocated for inter-ministerial and agency synergy in promoting the health and educational wellbeing of adolescents and young people in Ebonyi State.
The call was made on Thursday by UNESCO representative and the Executive Director, GirlUp Africa, Chikaodi Omokide.
GirlUp Africa is the Civil Society Organisation commissioned by UNESCO to lead the implementation of its 03 project in the state.
The project seeks to secure the active collaboration and commitment of all stakeholders to educated, healthy and thriving adolescents and young people in line with the proclamation of the Ministers of Education and Health of West and Central Africa on April 6, 2023 in Kintélé, Kenya.
Omokide, who led the implementing partners from the State Universal Basic Education Board on an advocacy visit to the Ministry of Education and State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, demanded improved coordination between the two agencies and others to promote school linkages to primary health care centres.
She noted that doing so would create the desired demand for good health seeking behaviour among in-school adolescents and prevent unwanted outcomes of seeking information and care from the wrong quarters, which may jeopardise their future.
She also advocated for specialised training for some school teachers and Officers-in-Charge of Primary Healthcare Centres across the state to offer friendly services to in-school adolescents and young people, integrating sexual, reproductive health services as well as gender-based violence and HIV issues.
Omokide further revealed that UNESCO, as part of the project demands, was about to train 1,111 in-service teachers in primary, junior and senior secondary schools, drawn from eight pilot local government areas in the state.
She added that the organisation would also be training some officers-in-charge of primary healthcare facilities on rendering of adolescent friendly services.
She called on the state to take the initiative to train more so as to raise sufficient advocates capable of equipping young people with the requisite knowledge and skills to make responsible and informed choices for their health and well-being.
In their separate responses, the Commissioner for Education, Prof. Paul Awo Nwobasi, and Executive Secretary, SPHCDA, Dr. Emeka Philip Ovuoba, pledged their commitments to connect with each other strategically towards achieving the goals of the project in the state.
Nwobasi said his Ministry would strengthen assembly talks and moral instructions as a platform for sensitising adolescents on their sexual and reproductive health and rights.
He directed the immediate inclusion of budget line for teachers’ training in the ongoing preparation of the 2025 budget of the ministry, and assured that the ministry would do everything possible to revive existing safe spaces in schools: clubs and societies to be manned by trained peer mentors where adolescents can share experiences and learn.
Ovuoba acknowledged that making healthcare facilities to render friendly services to adolescents was a key step to safeguarding their health and future.
He pledged to facilitate the linkage of some schools to health facilities with trained adolescent and youth friendly health workers.
The advocacy visits featured the submission of the project demands and proclamation documents of the Ministers of Education and Health of West and Central Africa to the government officials.
