NGO advocates teaching sex education in Ekiti schools

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A non-governmental organisation, Action Health Incorporated has called on the Ekiti state government to include the teaching of sex and reproductive health education in school curricula in the state.

The program officer of the organization, Fatima Idris stated this during the training of In-school and Out of-school Adolescent Girls on Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) supported by the United Nations Population Fund in Ilawe-Ekiti, Ekiti South West local government area of Ekiti.

Idris explained that if children are exposed to the needed information on reproductive health education in schools it would in no small measure help the adolescent girls in having healthy and productive adulthood.

She added that a five-day training exercise would equip the fifty participants with necessary skills ranging from leadership, gender-based violence, menstrual hygiene, and female genital mutilation and as well become champions of safe reproductive life in the society.

The programme officer said, “This must be incorporated into the school curriculum, I know the Lagos state government has started it already and they called it family life and HIV education.

“The Ekiti state government too can do the same in school curriculum to help the students, we know some of the topics are already in the schools but how deep are the teachers in impacting the children?

“So, there is a need for the teachers to be properly trained on the need for the children to know what they should know, without any ambiguity.”

Idris noted that the training would help the participants to discover themselves and make informed decisions about their health, adding, ”some of them have brighter futures and help them transition to a productive adulthood effectively.”

In their separate remarks, resource persons during the training including, the Executive Director, Gold Heart Foundation, Moyinoluwa Ogundowole and the Executive Director, Foundation for Excellent Living and Development for Youth and Women, Olajumoke Omisore took the students through various skills and ideas on leadership, how to be self-confident, and maintaining good menstrual hygiene.

In a remark, the gender desk officer, Ekiti State Ministry of Health, Mrs Dupe Amodu and Tolu Ogunniyi from the Ministry of Women Affairs, explained that the ministry was committed to partnering with relevant stakeholders for the adolescent girls in the state to have a healthy and productive lifestyle with adequate information on sexual education.

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