‘Why adolescents need sex  education’

The Useful Youth Vision Concept (UYVC), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), has urged parents to educate their adolescents on sexual reproductive health to prevent Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and unwanted pregnancies.

The Executive Director of the organisation, Mrs Adetokunbo Shonibare, made this call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja.

Shonibare stressed the need to teach adolescents about their rights to be able to prevent STIs and unwanted pregnancies.

She noted that some of the problems facing adolescents had been attributed to the inability of parents to expose them to sexual education. She, however, advised adolescents to make themselves available for such information on sexual health so as to achieve their full potential in life.

“It is very important that as a young person, you are informed and aware of your sexual reproduction health.

“It plays a huge factor in your future; get informed, access centres that talk about sexual health and do not be afraid to ask questions.

“The truth is that young people are disproportionately more affected by STIs than the adult population because they do not have information.

“Parents need to get informed and be aware of what their children are exposed to; so that they will be more open and feel more comfortable to talk on such issues,” she said.

Shonibare also stressed the need to educate parents more on family planning methods in order to prevent unwanted pregnancies and STIs.

She said that many people had the misconception about adolescents becoming promiscuous when they had access to sexuality education.

“For instance, if we conduct a survey, a good proportion of young people will be sexually active.

“We found out that it is more effective giving young people information to know the choices they can make because they are still going to be exposed to them,” she said.

She urged the government to provide more health facilities that give information on sexual education, adding that the inadequacy remained a major challenge to young people, seeking access to information.

“We find out that a lot of times when teenage girls get pregnant, their lives stop, and for most of them, it appears that they have nothing to look up to or be hopeful for.

“The mistake could have been prevented if they were aware of contraceptives and knew how to prevent unwanted pregnancies.