Submitted by Dr. Oniovokokor Bright Ejakporvi on 12 June, 2010 - 23:30
WELCOME ADDRESS DELIVERED BY DR BRIGHT ONIOVOKUKOR, PROJECT DIRECTOR, INDOMITABLE YOUTHS ORGANIZATION ON THE STAKE HOLDERS ADVOCACY FORUM WORKSHOP ON WEDNESDAY 9TH JUNE, 2010.
The Honourable Commissioner, Ministry of Health, Edo State, The Honourable Commissioner, Ministry of Youths & Sports, Edo State, Members of the Civil Society and Non-Governmental Organization, Special Guests, Members of the Press, Esteem members of the Indomitable Youths Organization, Ladies and Gentlemen.
You are all welcome to this advocacy forum. It is with great pleasure and fulfillment that I stand to address you today on the occasion. Before I continue let quickly give a brief about this Organization. It started as Indomitable Youths Association in 1997 and later metamorphosed to Indomitable Youths Organization (IYO) in 2008 while registering with the Corporate Affairs Commission.
IYO is a non -governmental, non-profit, non-religious, and non-racial but an organization that fosters unity among youths in the society. Free from any form of discrimination based on ethnicity, sex, race, religion, or otherwise. Membership is open to youths of 15 years and above.
Our vision is a society, where the youths are in the forefront for National development. With a mission is to eradicate societal ills amongst youths through sensitization on the dangers of cultism, drug abuse, prostitution and its related consequences of sexually transmitted infections as well as HIV/AIDS and harmonizing their potentials for maximum benefit to the society.
The sole aim of this Organization is to work towards a better nation through the following aim & Objectives:
- To eradicate juvenile delinquencies, by empowering youths to say no to vices.
- To entertain, educate and inform the youths.
- To bring out maximum potentials in the youths.
- To promote the reproductive health of young people; amongst others.
Today we are here because we are all stakeholders in “Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH), issue. This forum is in place to meet one of the objectives of the Organization “to promote the reproductive health of young people”. You will agree with me that in the last few decades there has been increased public health attention to adolescents at both national and sub-national levels in Nigeria, especially in response to their numbers, their reproductive health problems, and, most recently, to the increasing rates of HIV infection among this group.
Edo State has been a leader in formulating policies/laws related to the sexual and reproductive health of young adults, one of the foremost states to ban female genital cutting and also passed laws against international sex trafficking and prostitution. Despite all these policies and programmatic efforts, we still experience high teenage pregnancy and abortion-related problems among adolescents as well as limited contraceptive use. Hospital-based studies have shown that about 80% of patients with abortion-related complications are adolescents and young adults. Similarly, a community-based study of abortion prevalence found that one-third of women who obtained an abortion were youths.
This could be attributed to little or no financial resources committed to support the implementation of adolescent and sexual reproductive health (ASRH) policies and strategic plan developed by the Young Adults and Adolescent Reproductive Health (YAARH) Network in the recent past; and we obviously need some political will to push the issue forward.
This forum has become timely as it is aimed at Improving Maternal Health, target 5 of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through achieving universal access to reproductive health thereby increasing contraceptive prevalence rate, reduce adolescent birth rate, increase antenatal care coverage (at least one visit and at least four visits) and unmet need for family planning i.e. the MDG 5B, expected to be meant in 2015. We are here today to continue the process of achieving the targets of the MDG to help bridge the adolescents’ sexual and reproductive health gaps. This will entail us to identify where we are, what are these gaps, efforts made in the past to bridge these gaps and who are major key players that will help in the process. Believing that that the adolescent is stage in that the thing one involve in at this stage goes a very long way to determine what becomes of the future of that individuals.
I want to a passionate appeal that all of us should put in our very best as forum progresses so that our communiqué at the end of today will be unique and our advocacy brief will attract the much desired attention. I want to finally use this medium to appreciate all who took out time from their busy schedules to honour our invitation, we are indeed grateful to you all. Special appreciation goes to International Planned parenthood Federation (IPPF).
May God bless you all as we deliberate fruitfully. Once again a big thank to you all. Long Live Federal Republic of Nigeria! Long Live Edo State!! Long live International Planned parenthood Federation (IPPF)!!! Long Live Indomitable Youths Organization!!!!
Comments
The youths in Nigeria and globally should rise up to the challenge of road traffic accident in Nigeria. It is estimated that youths are the most volunerable vicitms of road traffic accidents globally. While your organization is doing much in health related programs, l will be grateful if your organization can find a way of collaborating with Accident Prevention and Rescue Initiative to promote safety use of road by majority of our youths whose means of transportation is by road. Most organizations (NGO) are in most cases not aware of the tragedy faced by youths through road traffic accidents. A visit to some hospitals will expose the ugly health conditions of our youths who are victims of road traffic accidents with little or no chances of recovery due to high cost of medication. Your organization can do more in this direction.
Prince Fidelis Nnadi
APRI
The area of road traffic accident is an area we have not directly looked at but indirectly some of our works are geared. In all we do we so much emphasise youth to say no to vices, as you can recall drunken driving is a major cause of some of these accidents. One of the vices we preach against is acohol comsumption by youths and you know the implication of that. Well we will work towards that and would not mind collaboration if the need arises.
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