Journalists urged to promote Sexual Reproductive Rights issues

Journalists have been urged to give more prominence to issues on Sexual Reproductive Rights (SRH) , HIV and prevention for youths.

AVAC fellow 2019 Global Advocacy for HIV prevention, David Ita made the call at a roundtable discussion by Journalists Against AIDS Nigeria (JAIDS), in partnership with Nigeria HIV and Vaccine Microbicides Advocacy Society (NHVMAS) on how adolescents and young people can access sexual reproductive health services.

According to Ita the media has a key role to play and can convince the state and federal government to integrate Sexual Reproductive Health into school curriculum.

He called on all media houses to help advocate for the integration of SRH-HIV prevention into the school curriculum.

“All media houses to join us to advocate so that we can achieve our aims, one of which is to get Lagos State government integrate SRH-HIV prevention into the school curriculum to save the rise in health indices of adolescent and young people in the state and Nigeria at large,” he added.

SRH services includes enlightenment of adolescents on sexual related issues, knowledge of contraceptives and it use, teaching them preventive methods on how to avoid unwanted pregnancy.

Speaking on sexual related challenges adolescents face, Honorable Aladeyelu Azeez noted that parents prevent their children from accessing sexual information and are ignorant on how to engage their children on sex matters.

“Parents don’t know when to engage their children on sexual discourse, some don’t even know the right age the child must attain before they begin to discuss this sensitive matter. So how do we see solve the problem? The problem can only be solved through social engagement, community dialogue, and massive education of parents” he said.

The event was sponsored by  Global Advocacy for HIV Prevention (AVAC).

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