Kaduna Steps Up Efforts to Curb Teenage Pregnancy
The Kaduna State Government has announced its intention to integrate the efforts of the Society for Family Health (SFH) into its health agenda, with the aim of reversing troubling health statistics among adolescents and unlocking the state’s demographic potential.
This was made known by Dr Aisha Abubakar-Sadiq, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, during the A360 Amplify Project Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH) Policy Dialogue and Transition Alignment meeting held on Sunday in Zaria.
Dr Abubakar-Sadiq noted that the initiative, originally developed in a Western country, offers a solid blueprint for developing and supporting adolescents and young girls in Kaduna. She acknowledged that while progress has been made in sexual and reproductive health, the state still faces pressing challenges.
According to her, nearly one in three girls aged 15 to 19 in Kaduna is either already a mother or currently pregnant. She described this as an alarming statistic that calls for immediate action. Additionally, she pointed out that contraceptive use among adolescents remains unacceptably low.
Other persistent issues include early marriage, particularly in rural local government areas, as well as gender inequity, misinformation, stigma, and a lack of youth-friendly health services.
Kaduna, with a rapidly growing population of over eight million, more than 60 percent of whom are under the age of 25, is at a crucial demographic juncture.
Dr Abubakar-Sadiq stressed the importance of sustaining the achievements already made through SFH’s work, noting that the key to progress lies in strong ownership, continued stakeholder commitment, and long-term sustainability.
In a separate interview, Mr Kenneth Okeineme, a Health Governance and Public Policy Specialist, described the SFH initiative as a flagship programme focused on married adolescent girls in northern Nigeria.
The project promotes the uptake of modern contraceptives and advocates for child spacing, with the broader goal of helping the state fully realise the benefits of its young population.
