The Kaduna State government says it will integrate the initiatives of the Society for Family Health (SFH) to reverse the negative health indices and harness demographic dividends.

Aisha Abubakar-Sadiq, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Health, disclosed this to journalists at the sidelines of the A360 Amplify Project ASRH Policy Dialogue and Transition alignment meeting on Sunday in Zatia.

She added, “The partner had a concept developed in a Western country to provide us with a blueprint on how to develop and support our adolescent and young girls.”

The permanent secretary, however, stated that despite what she described as commendable strides in sexual and reproductive health, there was data which called for urgency.

According to her, nearly one in three girls between 15 and 19 years in the state is already a mother or pregnant. She decried that contraceptives’ uptake among adolescents remains unacceptably low.

“ Early marriage remains prevalent, particularly in rural local government areas, and we still have gender inequities, misinformation, stigma, and limited availability of youth-friendly health services (YFHS),’’ she said.

Ms Abubakar-Sadiq added that the state was home to a rapidly growing, youthful population with over eight million residents, more than 60 per cent of whom were under 25.

“This reality positions Kaduna at a demographic crossroads, hence the crucial need to sustain the gains of the initiatives developed by the SFH,’’ she lamented.

She, therefore, said as one of the key stakeholder ownership, commitment to continuity and sustainability was her key message.

In a separate interview, Kenneth Okeineme, health governance and public policy specialist, SFH, said the project was a flagship initiative for adolescent, sexual reproductive health.

Mr Okeineme added that the initiative focused on married adolescent girls in northern Nigeria.

According to him, it is intended to drive the uptake of modern contraceptives, encouraging child spacing towards harnessing demographic dividends.

He added that the SFH was implementing the initiative in Kaduna through Matasan Matan Arewa (MMA) and was already recording unprecedented achievements.

(NAN)