By Awayi Kuje
Lafia – The Nigeria Academy of Science (NAS) says it has entered into a partnership with the Nasarawa State Government on the reproductive health needs of youths.
Its Executive Director, Dr Oladoyin Odubanjo, who disclosed this when he paid a courtesy visit to the State House of Assembly on Friday in Lafia, said that the partnership was primarily to tackle the risky sexual behaviours usually common among young people.
“Such risky behaviour usually affect the lives of the youths; we want to check that,” h said.
He said that the duo began the collaboration since 2013, when the academy introduced a project titled: “Mobilizing official support for the development of the livelihood and life skills of the youth”.
Odubanjo said that the aim of the visit was to seek the lawmakers’ support towards the success of the project.
“Findings from the strategic steps have shown that youths in the state engage in risky sexual behaviours.
“It also showed that many are involved in drug use and are not adequately exposed to current curricular for the teaching of Family Life and Health Education(FLHE).
“One major concern now is inadequate manpower and infrastructural capacity to meet the reproductive health needs of the youth.
“We have discovered that teachers are the most common source of information on reproductive health issues, hence the need for the state government to include Family Life and Health Education (FLHE) in school curriculum,” he said.
Responding, Alhaji Ibrahim Balarabe-Abdullahi, the Speaker, assured NAS of the readiness to support any programme that would have direct bearing on the lives of the youths and other people.
