Meetings with stakeholders on the FLHE Project to secure commitments for the future of young people in Nigeria, paid off on Monday (June 28, 2021) as Kids and Teens Resource Centre inaugurated the Family Life and HIV Education (FLHE) programme in Kaduna State.
At the stakeholders meeting chaired by the CEO of Kids & Teens Resource Centre, Mr Falana Martin-Mary, the community of stakeholders was commended for their understanding and commitment to join hands in ending all forms of violence against young people especially in the areas of Gender Based Violence, Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting and Substance abuse.
Martin-Mary said at the inaugural meeting in Kaduna, that the six-month programme which would be implemented in Taraba, Kaduna and Nasarawa states would reach out to 101,000 adolescents and young people in the state and would be implemented with support from UNESCO and the Sweden Government, under the Our Rights, Our Lives, and Our Future Programme.
He noted that the Life and HIV Education project for In-School and Out-of-School young people would tackle the high cases of unwanted and unplanned pregnancies, drug and substance abuse, and the monstrous spread of HIV as many young people in Kaduna state were faced with Sexual and Reproductive Health challenges.
Also speaking, Mrs Hadiza Umar, Executive Director, Hope for the Community and Children Initiative (H4CC), Kids and Teens partner in Kaduna State, said that the programme targets in-school and out-of-school adolescents and young people being the vibrant population, either as survivors or perpetuators of sexual violence.
“They have a low level of sexual and reproductive health knowledge largely due to cultural or social norms and religious ideologies.
“There are also a lot of gaps between parents and children, teachers and learners, and negative peer pressure, and influence of drugs, among others.
“The programme is, therefore, designed to empower the target group with basic knowledge about family life, life skills and what HIV and AIDS is about.
“They will also be enlightened on the risks involved, how they can protect themselves and resist negative peer pressure,” she said.
Umar explained that the in-school strategy would be implemented by 150 school teachers who would reach out to 1000 learners at the end of the programme.
According to her, the out-of-school strategy will be implemented through 50 corps members who will be trained, adding that each corps member would engage 50 peer educators in communities.
She explained that at the end of the programme, the community volunteers would reach out to 100,000 peers in their respective communities with key messages on Sexual and Reproductive Health.
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