Stakeholders in Kano State have been urged to intensify efforts to discourage young people from substance abuse and promote healthy lifestyles, including early healthcare-seeking, antenatal care and hospital delivery.
The call was made by the Adolescent Health Coordinator, Kano State Ministry of Health, Hajara Muhammad Ali, during a one-day sensitisation meeting on Sexual and Reproductive Health Services to commemorate International Youth Day.
Hajara said many young people face challenges relating to drug abuse, poor utilisation of healthcare facilities, low antenatal care attendance and preference for home delivery, stressing the need for concerted action to address the challenges.
She called on religious leaders, traditional rulers, Civil Society Organisations, Community Health Workers and other relevant stakeholders to encourage young people to take responsibility for their health and seek professional medical attention whenever they fall sick.
According to her, the state government has established an Adolescent Health Unit, with a dedicated budget line, which will commence activities once funds are released.
Hajara explained that the initiative is expected to strengthen interventions targeting adolescents and improve access to appropriate health and reproductive health services.
Also speaking, a public health advocate who doubles after founder SIDES Dr Musa Abdullahi Sufi, said the meeting provided an opportunity for stakeholders to examine critical issues affecting young people, particularly sexual and reproductive health, and discuss practical ways of addressing them.
Dr Sufi noted that experiences from other countries showed that there was hope for improving adolescent health outcomes when government, development partners and communities worked together.
He stressed the need for continuous collaboration among the media, government, CSOs, Ward Development Committees, religious and traditional leaders to identify more effective ways of empowering adolescents to become responsible members and future ambassadors of society.
A participant, who is also the Kano State Ward Development Committee Chairman from Nasarawa Local Government Area, Bashir Adamu Jigirya, said participants were briefed on practical steps they could take to improve health awareness among young people in their communities.
He pledged that community leaders would cascade the knowledge acquired from the meeting to other members of their communities.
Another participant, Nafi Muhammad Yakasai, from Kano Municipal, also described the meeting as timely, promising to apply the knowledge gained for the benefit of the society.
The participants further called on philanthropists and wealthy individuals to support youth empowerment programmes, particularly initiatives that provide young people with life skills and opportunities to become productive members of society.
The meeting was organised by the Kano State Ministry of Health in collaboration with Sustainable Innovation and Development Solutions, SIDES, and AAG Foundation.