Media practitioners in Niger State have called on the State Government to include sex education in Secondary School Curriculum so as to get adolescents well informed.
In his opening remarks at the Training of Trainers (ToT) of selected Journalists held at the IBB Pen House with the theme “A clinic for Family Planning/Child’s Spacing (FP/CBS) Terminologies for the Media” after a workshop organized by the Pathfinder International, in Minna, the State Coordinator FP Media Advocates, Daniel Atori called on the media to remain steadfast in the discharge of their duties.
According to him “we in the media must remain steadfast in the sustenance of Child’s Spacing activities in the state. As it is, there is the need for the government to introduce Sex Education in secondary schools’ curriculum and it will help our adolescents who are mostly exposed to sex either through their peers or the internet.
“it will be very helpful if the topic is introduced in Schools, and parents also discuss it at home with their wards. It will go a long way because if they are thought how to plan family in early stage it will reduce the rate or early marriage, unplanned sex and ofcourse infant and maternal mortality”.
While making his presentation, the State Primary Health Care Development Agency (SPHCDA) Family Panning (FP) Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Ahmed Hamidu, introducing Sex education into the curriculum is very important because most of them (adolescents) are already experiencing sex due to the relationships they are involved in.
Ahmed who was also the Resource Person during the training during the week, stated that it was necessary to carry adolescents along in the Family Planning/Child’s Spacing (FP) campaign in the State because most of them are exposed to sexual materials which can be accessed on the internet and through other sources.
He said the importance of introducing the topic is not to expose them to promiscuity, rather to prepare them take proper decisions as they grow up so that they can become responsible family members in future adding that the fact remains glaring because most of them are already experiencing sex due to the relationships they are involved.
According to him, if the topic is introduced in Schools, and parents also discuss it at home, it will help a lot of them in taking decisive steps to avoid sexual relationships until they get married and are fully prepared for responsibilities that comes with it, by being joyful and proud instead of shame.
While speaking on FP Terminologies, Ahmed further called on health workers to be professional when adolescents visit FP Centers for Services because some of them who are victims of early pregnancy can resort to harmful methods which could lead to permanent injuries or even death, hence they should be attended to.
Earlier, one of the participants, Habiba Dauda of Niger state Television (NSTV), advised that the level of sensitization on sex education needs to be increased because adolescents know much about sex and most of them indulge in the affair adding that the attitude of health workers towards clients need to be checked.
She suggested that the Ministries of Health and Education need to synergize and come up with modalities on how best to introduce the matter in Secondary school’s because the rate at which unwanted pregnancies occur in the society is alarming.
Mr Anselm Okolo who spoke via a live telephone call, admonished journalists on the need to take up the challenge by ensuring they do human angle stories that will reorient the people on issues relating to family planning/child’s spacing.
