A Well-Informed Adolescent Initiative (AWA Initiative), formerly known as Adolescent Reproductive Health and Rights Initiative, held its 4th edition of A Well-Informed Adolescent Campaign from February to March 2020. This edition was special because it was an inclusive edition. We visited Government Secondary School for Special Needs Ibom Layout Calabar Cross River Nigeria.
AWA Initiative is a youth focus organization that provides adequate comprehensive sexuality education and integrated sexual reproductive health services to young people. We achieve this through multi-sectorial programs that link health to education, recreational or skills acquisition, also youth club activities, school campaign, advocacy and peer health education.
AWA Initiative team educated the students about how they can navigate the adolescence phase, comprehensive sexuality education, effective life skills they need to have to survive and strive and how to navigate the challenges and intricacies of adolescence, menstrual hygiene and menstrual cycle, we talked to them about good touch and bad touch and signs of sexual abuse and what they can do immediately. As an organization We know young People face numerous health problems among these problems are early sexual debut, unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortion, pregnancy-related complications, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and HIV/AIDS.
The Principal appreciate our effort for coming to school she stated that there has not been sexual reproductive health organization visits the school like we did, AWA Initiative team lead Ms Sarah responded that "the organization work to ensure every young person have access to adequate comprehensive sexuality education there by contributing to the actualization of Universal access to sexual reproductive health education and services. She further reiterated the organization vision, which is to raise a generation of well-informed adolescent, who will be equipped to make informed choices about their sexual reproductive health. AWA Initiative is an organization established because of the need to invest appropriately in the health and development of young people, and has continued to strive towards improving the health and development of this unique population sub-group. And in rising to this challenge of developing appropriately skilled adolescent, we use different innovative approach which has been mentioned above. Nonetheless, there is still need gap yet to be met and that’s why we conceived “A Well-Informed Adolescent Campaign” in secondary schools.
At the end of the campaign AWA Initiative gave the school some copies of "MY PERIOD" Book one of the recent publication on menstruation and menstrual hygiene management by the organization.
