Family Life Health Education – Dehat Ability Support Initiative

Team with the Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Health

Workshop in progress

The Rivers State Technical Working Group on Adolescents and Young Persons (TWGAYP) held workshops and associated activities with the Federal Ministry of Health, Rivers State Ministry of Health, selected Civil Society Organizations (including D-Ability Initiative), international organizations, and media partners. The aim was to provide technical support to the State TWGAYP and review the implementation of the State’s work plan. The 5-day events included an Advocacy visit, facilities visitation, and workshops which were held at Visa Karena Hotels, Port Harcourt from 28th August to 2^nd September 2022.

The events started with an Advocacy Visit by the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH), State Ministry of Health (SMoH), and some Partners to the State Permanent Secretary, and Policymakers. Objectives of the week’s activities and Goodwill messages were presented. The representatives of the Federal Ministry of Health were Mrs. Francisca Osibe (Team Lead), Ms. Olabanji Damilola, and Dr. Esther Envuladu.

A welcome address, meeting objectives, and workshop methodology were presented by Mrs. Mbreba Wokoma, the Desk Officer, Adolescent and Young People’s Health, State Ministry of Health.

The following presentations were made:

Implementation Status of State Plan (Mrs. Mbreba Wokoma).
Presentation of Data for Services Provided for Adolescents and Young People in the state from January to June 2022, using the agreed template (Mrs. Mbreba Wokoma).
The Review of International Adolescent Health Week (IAHW 2022) Implementation. (Dr. Uloma Okere, and Mrs. Mbreba Wokoma).
Sensitization on U-Test/Self-test (Mr. Stanley Wowo, RIVSACA)
Feedback on Facilities visitation

From the presentations, it was evident that the activities in the work plan on the three thematic areas: Teenage Pregnancy and Unsafe Abortion; Alcoholism and Drug Abuse; and Violence/ Cultism in the State were not completed. As a result, groups were created to identify key issues that weren’t captured in the work plan, identify challenges that prevented achievements, and make recommendations.

Editorial Team at work The House went into group work and plenary sessions according to the outlined thematic areas. D-Ability Initiative led the group works on Violence and Cultism. The outputs of the group work were presented by Dr. Nwanyanwu Kingdom, the Founder and President, D-Ability Initiative.

After due deliberations, participants agreed on the following observations and recommendations.

OBSERVATIONS

At present, the few Adolescent and Young Persons-friendly facilities available are not up to the required standards.
A high rate of sexual assault cases was recorded.
We observed a lack of Water Sanitation Hygiene (WASH) facilities in schools.
Lack of Life Planning/HIV/STIs services for in and out-of-school adolescents in the State was observed.
There was some adolescents’ ante-natal care recorded but zero delivery.
Lack of adolescents’ Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) materials in all the visited facilities.
Inadequate training, poor knowledge, and skills of adolescent health care providers were evident.
Most facilities concentrated mainly on Maternal Neo-natal and Child Health issues.
A lack of database entry for the adolescents was observed.
Available Life Planning commodities were inadequate.
Cultural and religious beliefs were also found to be militating factors against the Life Planning Education/ Programming for adolescents in the State.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

1 There should be awareness creation, education, and implementation of Life Planning/HIV/STIs services for in and out-of-school adolescents in the State.
2 More research should be done on the repackaging of adolescents’ information for easy acceptability by partners and Faith-Based Organizations.
3 IEC materials, Life Planning commodities, and catalog (hotlines) should be provided adolescent friendly centers.
4 There should be training and retraining of adolescent healthcare providers followed by supportive supervision to make them adolescent friendly.
5 There should be provisions of database and open data kits, especially concerning adolescents’ issues of Gender-Based Violence (GBV), sexual assaults, and other forms of violence.
- Media houses in the State should endeavor to bring adolescent-related issues to the forefront.
- 6 The State Ministry of Health (SMoH) should reach out to CSOs and other interested local partners to mainstream some of the adolescents’ health care activities into their programme with the TWGAYP and SMoH as partners.
- 7 Government should create and upgrade adolescent spaces in all the facilities across 23 LGAs to reflect adolescent-friendliness so that they can serve the intended purpose.
- 8 Perpetrators of GBV, sexual assaults, and other forms of violence against adolescents must be punished and rehabilitated.
- 9 There should be public awareness and training of adolescents on self-defense against GBV and other forms of violence.
- 10 Provision of Life Management Education and skills for families, schools, and Faith-based Organizations is necessary.
- 11 There needs be registers, training guides, checklists, and baseline survey tools (starting with manuals) in the facilities for monitoring of all adolescents-friendly services and processes.
The FMoH Team expressed deep gratitude to the Rivers State Technical Working Group for their hard work and dedication to the well-being of the adolescents and young people in the State. Mrs. Mbreba Wokoma and Dr. Uloma Okere were greatly commended for their selfless service and relentless efforts. A Communique was drafted by the Communique Team and presented to the general house by the Communique Team Lead, Dr. Nwanyanwu, Kingdom President of D-Ability Initiative.

Participant Organizations include:

Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH)

Rivers State Ministry of Health (RSMoH)

Rivers State Ministry of Youth Development (RSMoH)

Rivers State Ministry of Education (MoE)

Rivers State Primary Health Care Management Board (RSPHCMB)

Adolescents and Young Persons’ Technical Working Group (AYTWG)

UNICEF

World Health Organization (WHO)

D-Ability Initiative (Dehat Ability Support Initiative)

National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ)

National Orientation Agency (NOA)

Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH)

University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH)

Centre for Gender Development Studies

Healthy Life Development Initiative (HELDi)

Rivers Media

Society for Family Health

Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI)

CWHAD

LACA

CISHAN

YOHAD

MBEP

The Tide newspaper

FIDA, Rivers State

RIVSACA

Adok

Rhema Care

SBCC

SASCP

Sunbeam Life Reformation Initiative

Centre for Creative Development Strategies

The Technical Working Group and FLHE Teachers

This programme took place on December 2, 2021. The main purpose of this workshop was to share update(s) of the final copy of the harmonized action plan, to plan for the 2022 International Adolescent Health Week, and to disseminate Family Life Health Education’s (FLHE) findings from some implementations.

The workshop was moderated by Mrs. Mbreba Wokoma, the Desk Officer, Adolescents, and Young Persons Health, Rivers State Ministry of Health.

Some issues that Adolescents face were identified, among which were: 1) Teenage Pregnancy and Abortion. 2) Rise in Cultism 3) Prevalent Drug Abuse among Adolescents. So, how do we mitigate and solve this issue, apart from identifying the challenges? There are implementing partners to ensure these objectives are achieved through the stipulated strategies. One of the strategies agreed on to tackle this menace was parental engagement

We need to have “Parental Engagement” alongside traditional rulers. They can talk to the consciences of their children. And then, work-out strategies to talk to those involved in Cultism (the cultists themselves), so that they don’t attack back. First, we need God and then, we need Parents to be bold. We will help the cult leaders understand what they stand to gain on the other side of life. When they have been convinced, they can help us to sensitize their followers. We need to use the Media (Radio) through regular jingles to sensitize the public. Also, Church/Religious Leaders, we need to talk to them as well. In approaching Cult Leaders, we should address them as “Social Organization Leaders or Youth Leaders”, let’s be subtle in our approach. Most Cult Leaders are violent and arrogant in nature.

Next on the Agenda is “2022 International Adolescent Health Week”; this will happen on the 3rd week of March, 20th – 26th, 2022. Youth Ambassadors will be recruited and the theme is “Transition: Laying Foundation for Adolescent Development”. Plan for screening (HIV/AIDS screening/Mental Health Check) for Adolescents in school and out of school. Carry out activities to create awareness.

The Challenge

It was clear that one of the factors militating against the success of this programme is inadequate facilities. We don’t have enough facilities at the Primary Health Centres, unfortunately, most. Adolescents need confidentiality, they need respect and privacy and with these, you can get any information from them. 23 LGA’s in the State, have two (2) to three (3) Focal Persons and they visit schools, but the linkage facilities are still an issue and it’s challenging. Some of the issues, include; STIs, Post-Abortion issues, etc. In the State, we have over 4000 (plus) Secondary Schools and how many Teachers are taught the FLHE Programme/training. The Primary Health Board is ensuring that facilities in the Health Centres are Adolescent friendly.

Several issues were raised. The FLHE Programme and the needs for Facilities. We will start small, but we will get there. D-Ability Initiative was represented by Dr. Kingdom U. Nwanyanwu.

Dehat Ability Support Initiative

Posts tagged: Family Life Health Education

D-ABILITY INITIATIVE SUPPORTS FEDERAL MINISTRY OF HEALTH’S SYSTEM-STRENGTHENING ACTIVITIES IN RIVERS STATE