Stakeholders pledge to continue adolescents empowerment programme in Balanga Council
Stakeholders from Balanga Local Government Area of Gombe state have concluded plans to sustain the achievements of Reaching and Empowering Adolescents to make Informed Choices for their Health (REACH) project of Save the Children International.
The Chairman, Technical Working Group and Primary Health Care Coordinator of the Local Government Area, Musa Yusuf stated this while speaking during the mid term review dissemination meeting of the project in Talasse on Tuesday.
Reaching and Empowering Adolescents to make Informed Choices for their Health Project (REACH) is a funding project by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) implemented by the Save the Children International Nigeria in Gombe, Katsina and Zamfara States.
He said that the local government’s in collaboration with the Ward Development Committee would continue with the project in all the 11 wards of the local government area.
“REACH project is running some safe space centres in Dukku and Balanga local government areas, where children and adolescents are being taught, trained and counselled on health and carrier choices, as well as discourage early marriage and child abuse across the state.
“Sustaining the project will positively impact on more children and adolescents in the state.
The stakeholders which include traditional and political leaders, religious leaders from Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria (FOMWAN), Jama’atu Izalatul Bid’ah wa Ikamatus Sunnah (JIBWIS), Civil Society Organization, opinion leaders and individuals, said the REACH Project has done more than 80% in the journey, expressing commitments of taking the goals of the project forward.
Speaking at the meeting the Councillor representing Balanga/Reme Ward in the Local Government Council, Malam Isa Musa, assured of creating more safe spaces in his area to reach more unreached children and adolescents.
“Already being one of the facilitators in the safe spaces here in Balanga, I witnessed tremendous contributions.
Save the Children International Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Coordinator, Ifeka Cletus, said the Project targets rural hard to reach communities where high rates of child early and forced marriage, early childbearing, lack of access to education and discriminatory social and gender norms and other social vices were prevalent.
“REACH is utilizing a social-ecological model to address deep-rooted gender inequalities and improve equitable access of 100,000 married and unmarried adolescents to high-quality gender-responsive and adolescent-friendly sexual and reproductive health services.
Mr Cletus said that the survey of the project shown that before the project started in 2018 married adolescent girls who were married before the age of 15 are 54 per cent and now has reduced to 41 per cent, unmarried adolescent girls who felt confident to insist on delaying married till age of 18 has increased from 69 to 85 per cent.
“Girls 10 to 14 that aware of the importance of the safe spacing of pregnancies also increased from 51 to 82 per cent and male partners of adolescent girls who feel their spouse has a right to make her own sexual reproductive health decision before is 47 per cent and now is 54 per cent while couples who reported shared decision making about sexual reproductive health also increst from 35 to 64 per cent and health workers trained to deliver gender-responsive, adolescent-friendly sexual reproductive health also increased from 31 to 84 per cent and health facilities delivering gender-responsive adolescent-friendly sexual reproductive health increased from 0 to 77 per cent.
Stakeholders pledge to continue adolescents empowerment programme in Balanga Council