The Ogun State government has reassured of its readiness to ensure adequate implementation of Sexual and Reproductive Health programmes to curb unintended adolescents pregnancies in the states.
The state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Coker, announced this at a roundtable on ‘COVID-19 and Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health’ with the theme: ‘Meaningful Youth Engagement in Adolescents and Young People’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Needs and COVID-19’, held in Abeokuta.
Coker, who was represented by the Executive Secretary, Ogun State Primary Healthcare Development Board, Dr. Elijah Ogunsola, revealed that the South-West states had become the major hub of education for the adolescents, accounting for 50 percent of intervention states in the country.
Speaking at the event, which was organised by the State Primary Healthcare Development Board in conjunction with the Society for Family Health and Adolescent 360 Project, Coker maintained that the state was committed to improving the sexual and reproductive health of the adolescents, especially girls.
Dr. Israel Orire, the State Reproductive Health Coordinator, lamented that many young girls got pregnant during the COVID-19 lockdown due to idleness, disclosing that 6,505 adolescent girls were reached during the period.
Giving a breakdown in his presentation on ‘Impact of COVID-19 on Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health in Ogun State’, Orire said that 3,673 of them accessed health facilities, while 2,706 accessed contraceptives during the period.
However, he regretted that there was a sharp decrease in the uptake of family planning methods at health facilities during the peak of COVID-19 as people were afraid of being infected.
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Similarly, Mrs. Eunice Ogunkelu, A360 Programme Assistant, while identifying the need for meaningful youth engagement, noted that building the capacity of the youths will make them to become advocates for adolescent sexual and Reproductive Health.
Ogunkelu advocated for increased focus on adolescents and young people’s sexual and reproductive health issues such as gender-based violence, teenage pregnancies and need for contraceptives.
Contributing, Mrs Bukola Ogunsemi, an A360 Young Designer, admitted the economic and social constraints being faced by adolescents and canvassed for the empowerment of young girls to reduce the economic pressure on them which often lead to unintended pregnancies.
In his presentation tagged, “COVID-19 in Ogun State: An overview”, Dr. Kayode Soyinka, the Director, Public Health in the state Ministry of Health, stated that the government, has demonstrated its commitment towards tackling coronavirus.
