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Author: Lilian Okoro

  • Expert urges parents to give adolescents sexuality education

    Expert urges parents to give adolescents sexuality education

    Adolescents
    By Lilian U. Okoro
    Lagos, June 5, 2024 (NAN) A child and adolescent mental health analyst, Dr Tolulope Okunowo, has advised parents to educate their adolescents about sexual reproductive health to prevent pre-marital pregnancies and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs).

    Okunowo, also a Consultant Psychiatrist with the Oshodi Annex of the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital Yaba, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos.

    She also advised adolescents to make themselves available for such information that bothered on sexual health to achieve their full potential in life.

    “It is very important that as a young person you are informed and aware of your sexual reproduction health.

    “It plays a huge factor in your future; get informed, access centres that talk about sexual health and do not be afraid to ask questions.

    “The truth is that young people are disproportionately more affected by STIs, including HIV/AIDS than the adult population, because they do not have information.

    “Parents themselves need to get informed and be aware of what their children are exposed to, so that they will be more open and feel more comfortable to talk on such issues,’’ she said.

    The analyst said there was also need to educate parents more on family planning methods to prevent pregnancies and STIs.

    She said that many people had the misconception about adolescents becoming promiscuous when they had access to sexual education, stressing that teaching adolescents particularly girls about reproductive health and sexuality would not make them to be promiscuous.

    She explained that such education would prepare and provide them with the adequate knowledge on the inherent dangers in pre-marital sex.

    She said that parents needed to start educating their children and wards on sex and related issues from ages 12 to 15, saying that was part of parenting responsibilities.

    “If we do a survey, out of 100, a good proportion of young people are sexually active.

    “So, it is more effective giving young people information to know the choices they can make, because they are still going to be exposed to them.

    “When we teach adolescent girls about pre-marital sex; we are trying to give them information about sexual and reproductive health issues so that if they are sexually active they know where to go for advice,’’ she said.

    Okunowo said inadequate health facilities that provided information on sexual education remained a major challenge to young people who sought to access information.

    According to her, there is not much of receptiveness from the health system for young people to get information.

    The analysts emphasised the need to teach adolescents about their sexual rights to be able to prevent unwanted pregnancies.

    She said, “We find out that a lot of times when teenagers get pregnant, their lives stop, and for most of them, it feels like they have nothing to look up to or be hopeful for.

    “The mistake could have been prevented if they were aware of contraceptives and know how to prevent unwanted pregnancies.

    “We believe that youths will be fulfilled and able to achieve their maximum potential if they have access to the right information.”(NAN)
    LUC/VIV

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    Edited by Vivian Ihechu

  • Strike: Skeletal work ongoing at Yaba Psychiatric hospital

     

     

     

     

     

    Strike: Skeletal work ongoing at Yaba Psychiatric hospital

    Strike
    By Lilian U. Okoro
    Lagos, June 3, 2024 (NAN) Skeletal works were seen ongoing at the Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital Yaba on Monday as the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) begin a nationwide strike.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that NLC, had ordered workers to begin an indefinite nationwide strike following the May 31 deadline for the Federal Government to approve and implement a new National Minimum Wage.

    NAN also reports that last minute intervention on Sunday night by the National Assembly to prevent the nationwide strike was futile as the meeting with government representatives and labour leaders ended in a deadlock.

    The Federal Government had insisted on N60,000 as the new minimum wage, while labour demanded N495,000 as what was acceptable to the unions.

    NAN correspondent, who monitored the level of compliance at the hospital reports that few health workers including doctors and nurses were seen in the hospital rendering skeletal services to the patients.

    The number of outgoing patients did not reduce due to the strike, as almost the same number of patients were seen on ground just like every other normal day.

    A resident doctor with the hospital who pleaded anonymity told NAN that the resident doctors were at work irrespective of the ongoing nationwide strike.

    The doctor explained that the residents doctor were at work because the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) was not directly under NLC.

    He added that even other doctors like the consultant psychiatrists were at work because they too were not directly under Labour.

    “Because the ARD is not directly under NLC, so we are at work, but, work and activities will not be as normal due to the ongoing strike because some other health workers like the nurses, who are under NLC are observing the strike.

    “This is not something that started today; right from time, the resident doctors and even consultant psychiatrists normally are not directly under NLC.

    “So, strikes like this; we don’t always fully observe it,” he said.

    A psychiatric nurse with the hospital, who also pleaded anonymity, said that the nurses were at work despite the ongoing strike.

    She explained that the nurses were working despite the ongoing strike because, they were not in union.

    According to her, the Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital Yaba Lagos, ceased to function since over two years ago when its major executives left the country for abroad in search of greener pastures.

    “So, we the nurses are at work because we are not in union presently.

    “If we join the strike, the management of the hospital may use that against us because we are not in union for now.

    “The nurses’ union of the hospital ceased to operate over two years ago when its major executives left the country to operate abroad,” she said. (NAN)www.nannews.ng
    LUC/VIV

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    Edited by Vivian Ihechu