Stakeholders have called for urgent, multi-sectoral investments in sexual and reproductive health and rights across Africa, warning that without it, the continent risks squandering its greatest resource, its youth.

The stakeholders made the call on Thursday in Abuja at the National Policy Dialogue on Improving Adolescent Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services.

Despite ongoing national investments, adolescent reproductive health outcomes in Nigeria remain uneven, with contraceptive uptake among adolescents still low.

Experts at the dialogue emphasised the need for high-impact, evidence-based interventions, youth-driven design, and better alignment of funding priorities at both national and subnational levels.

Mashishi Mokgadi, Africa Access lead at Organon, a global pharmaceutical company, highlighted how policy failures continue to trap girls and women in cycles of poverty, early pregnancy, and lost economic potential.

Ms Mokgadi said that poor access and cultural barriers were also contributing to the problem. She shared the fictional story of Lucy, a 15-year-old girl who becomes pregnant due to a lack of access to contraception, drops out of school, and is eventually forced into marriage with a much older man.