The Federal Government, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Nigeria, and others have advocated for strengthening of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) to enhance health outcomes and protection from Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) and violence. They made the call at an event organised by AHF Nigeria to commemorate the 2024 International Day of the African Child (IDAC) on Thursday in Abuja. Director of Policy, Advocacy and Marketing, AHF Africa Bureau, Kemi Gbadamosi in her address said CSE will address the increasing new infection rates of HIV, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and unplanned pregnancies amongst youths.
“We are looking at fostering education and health through CSE and the reason is because as a HIV/AIDS organisation, we see that there are new infection rates amongst young people every week. “For example we get 4,000 HIV new infection globally amongst young people age 15 to 24. and Africa takes the biggest chunk of that.
“And part of the reason we see this spike in infection rates amongst young people is lack of access to the right information, sexual reproductive health services, information and tools like CSE. “Research tells us that access to age appropriate CSE helps to reduce HIV infections, teenage pregnancies, delay when young people begin to have sex and reduce. Cases of Gender Based Violence (GBV) and promote gender equality.
” Gbadamosi, explained that the organisation engages parents and youths on the benefits of CSE, which contr.