In Nigeria and other countries in our region, young people face serious barriers to accessing life-saving family planning services, including insufficient knowledge about modern methods and healthcare providers who discourage the use of contraception among unmarried people.
For World Contraceptive Day 2022, in creating Awareness for inclusion of public education on contraceptive use; health care provider training; distribution of contraceptives; condom usage promotion; media campaigns for safer sex practices and family planning education. i spoke with Winifred Zechariah who is an adolescents specialist who remarked that;
Social ills like teenage pregnancies and unsafe sex are a reality in many countries and regions of the world.
The lack of access to contraceptives as well as the lack of understanding about how contraceptives work is a major problem for adolescents and youths in Nigeria. This is because there are a lot of misconceptions about the use and effectiveness of contraceptives.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development under target 3.7 lays credence to the fact that states “by 2030, should ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services, including family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes
Nigeria has a policy document on adolescent health that also covers adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health ( SRH).
While this policies support adolescent access to SRH services, they often do not provide any specific provisions on the accessibility and quality of these services or healthcare provider training. In many cases, the legal ambiguities surrounding age of access to contraceptives and other Sexual Reproductive Health services mean that the final decisions may rest in the hands of the healthcare providers, creating a situation of bias in provision of these services.
A review of Nigeria sexual consent laws shows that the legal age to sexual consent is very high (18 years and above), While these laws are primarily protective in nature, in most cases it can act as a barrier to adolescents seeking SRH services. For instance, in Nigeria where 18 years is the age of sexual consent (according to federal law ), situations are created where adolescents below the age of 18 years are reluctant to access services, or are denied services by healthcare providers due to this law.
This is not just a problem in Nigeria, but it is also prevalent in other parts of the world. In fact, there are more than 225 million women who want to use contraceptives but cannot due to lack of access. While the use of contraceptives is on the rise in most parts of the world, it is not as widespread among young people who are living in low-income countries.
Providing access to contraception for adolescents and youths has been proven to provide many benefits, both for individuals and society. For instance, it can help reduce the rates of teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, and abortions. Studies also show that it can increase the rate of secondary school graduation and university attendance. Moreover, it provides these benefits at a very low cost, which makes it a must-do.
It is worthy of note that the best way to provide this access is by giving them the ability to get contraceptives without any barriers. This means that contraceptives should be free, easy to access, and available in a variety of forms (such as over-the-counter), Affordable prices, modern and reliable products, easy access at pharmacies & clinics, and knowledgeable health care providers. Young persons should be able to access contraceptives from their school or even at home. This will make it easier for them to protect themselves from unintended pregnancies and STDs.
Therefore, having access to contraception is essential & a fundamental right that must be recognized by the constitution.- this is what Adolescents and youths deserve!
Lets Join hands and make contraceptives available & accessible for young people in need of such services.