Bauchi Gov’t, UNICEF promoting adolescents health with support from GAC
By: Monday Danladi, Bauchi
Adolescent health in Bauchi State is facing challenges including but not limited to poor nutrition, high teen pregnancy, limited SRH access, and poor menstrual hygiene, but the State Government and development partners, most particularly UNICEF, are implementing programs like HPV vaccination, MMS, Pad Banks (leading to a new law), health workers training, and community dialogues (AMEA project) to improve sexual/reproductive health (SRH), education access for adolescent mothers, and overall well-being, focusing on gender-responsive care and policy development.
The key challenges are Nutrition: Low intake of fruits, vegetables, and protein; high consumption of sugary snacks.
Sexual & Reproductive Health (SRH): Gaps in SRH services, high teen pregnancy rates, and issues with menstrual hygiene management.
Education: Barriers for adolescent mothers returning to school.
Mental Health: Vulnerabilities, especially in diverse family structures, highlight the need for mental well-being support.
Key Initiatives & Solutions
Vaccination & Supplements: Routine HPV vaccination and Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) for adolescent girls.
Menstrual Hygiene: Plan International’s “Pad Bank” model led to Bauchi State pioneering a bill for free sanitary pads in schools and correctional centers.
Adolescent Mother Education (AMEA Project): Involving stakeholders to help adolescent mothers return to school.
Health System Strengthening: Training health workers and policymakers on gender-responsive RMNCAH (Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health) services.
Community Engagement: Dialogues involving adolescents, parents, leaders, and providers to address SRH needs culturally.
The ongoing focus is the establishment of dedicated budget lines for adolescent health, integrating SRH education into the school curriculum and strengthening primary healthcare for better RMNCAEH+N standards.
In essence, Bauchi State is working with partners to create a more supportive environment for adolescents, tackling health and education gaps through policy, service delivery, and community-based interventions.
As part of the advocacy efforts to enhance adolescent health, with focus on the Global Affairs Canada, GAC-funded initiative, selected Journalists were invited to participate in a Media Engagement on Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health.
This engagement was convened to strengthen the capacity of Bauchi-based media practitioners to accurately report on adolescent reproductive health and nutrition issues. With limited decision-making power among girls, as well as high anaemia and malnutrition rates among adolescents, the media plays a crucial role in driving awareness, shaping public perception, and supporting positive behavioural change.
The Purpose of the Engagement, which was a roundtable meeting, was to Orient Journalists on the current SRH situation in Bauchi State; Strengthen ethical, gender-sensitive, and youth-responsive reporting on ASRH; Promote donor visibility on the GAC-supported project and facilitate field interactions between Journalists and communities to deepen understanding of adolescent health and nutrition issues.
During the engagement, some of the Journalists visired Bulkachuwa to have sessions with some of the Adolescents who are part of the community engaged in sensitization, education and Enlightenment of their peers on various issues.
Khadija Hussaini, is 18 year old, living in Bulkachuwa community, Unguwan Arewa, who has completed her Secondary School, according to her, she aspires to become a Medical Doctor in order to help her fellow females, in the area of reproductive health.
She stated that, “I don’t want to marry early because it may cut shot my dream of becoming the doctor I am aspiring to be. I believe that early marriage is not wise decision, if you get educated it will help you to reach your potential and help yourself, your family and the community at large. Girls need to further their education, we have to go beyond secondary school.”
She stressed that,”The little education I obtained at the Primary and Secondary school levels has helped me to know how to access health services, you can imagine how much more it would assist me if I go beyond secondary school?We have learnt about personal hygiene, especially during menstrual period, we have been taught how to keep ourselves clean to avoid infections.”
She further said that the initiative has equipped them with the skills of making reusable sanitary pads which is cheaper in order to keep their bodies clean during menstrual periods.
Also, Fatima Ibrahim, 18 years, responded that, “I’m from Bulkachuwa community, also a member of adolescents health club, we have been trained to enlighten our fellow adolescents on how to take care of themselves during menstrual periods, and we have been doing that. We have always tried to bring those that are into hawking close to us.”
According to her, “I used to go to hospital because I am lucky to have my elder sister who is a health worker, anytime I visit her she gives me advice. Like we always tell our fellow adolescents, let them make sure they maintain a healthy living, let them not engage in social vices such as drug abuse, theft among other behaviors that will jeopardize their future.”
She pleaded with the government that the health facility built for the adolescents in the community should be put to use.
*Shehu Bala Garba, 20 years old*
I stopped at the secondary school level and I am planning to go to tertiary institution, I finished secondary school two years ago.
He said after completing his secondary school, he embraced handwork to help himself instead of following friends who are sitting idle.
Idleness is not good, it’s good to lay your hands on something good to earn a living than engaging in taking drugs, womanizing, theft or other social vices, because of these, I engaged myself with handwork and I am helping myself with it, including my parents and even my brothers.
With the formation of the Adolescents health club, we have been sensitizing our fellow youths on the dangers of waywardness occasioned by idleness, we let them know that taking drugs or illicit subraces can damage their brains and health generally, we use to cite examples for them to see and reason well, and we appreciate God that many of them are responding positively. I have never involved myself into drugs, but I have a friend who was into it but with my advice he was able to stop taking drugs, he is my age mate, it was not so easy, it was not quick, but I was so resilient and he has now changed for good.
Umar T. Buba, 18 years, also a member of the adolescents health club said that they used to go into nooks and crannies of Bulkachuwa community to sensitize people, especially the youth on negative effect of drugs.
He narrated that, “I have a friend who changed his lifestyle as a result of my advice. I used to caution him about the way he is taking drugs, telling him what it will do to him in future and also how his parents are not happy about him. I tried so much to make him understand that it is dangerous to his health and wellbeing.”
According to him,”He said to me “anytime I follow those guys they use to buy food for me because I don’t have something doing to get money.” I told him that he will be liberated if he stop following them, I asked him is food your problem and he said yes, and I promise to be buying food for him and I also introduced him to my business, asking him to help me in running it, and I kept buying food for him, since then he stopped following them.”
He added that,”But there was a time I heard that he followed them to where they used to take the drugs, i traced him, when he saw me, he felt ashamed and I approached him, I told him I was not happy seeing him there, but he apologized to me and said he was deceived by someone, and I asked him to call the person for me, he did and I talked to them about dangers of drugs, and thank God that now he is becoming a better person, including the other person. I am happy others in the club are doing same thing and we succeeded in changing the mindset of many youths for good.”
Umar Buba added that,”We are pleading with the government to help the youth with skills and job opportunities to save them from poverty. Most of these youth are into drugs because they don’t have something to do to fend for themselves.”
Lami Yusuf, 50 years old, is an active member of mama2mama in Bulkachuwa community, while speaking to a team of Journalists, expressed gratitude to the government and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), for supporting their activities which she said have improved immunization intake, participation of pregnant women in antenatal care, access to health care, exclusive breastfeeding, among other good health practices.
According to her, “With the knowledge we get from health experts, we do go to house to house, community to to community to sensitize people on the need to go to hospital anytime they noticed unusual feeling in their bodies, particularly pregnant women and nursing mothers, we also advise them against self medication and delay to visit health facilities close to them, we also advise pregnant women against giving birth at home, that’s home delivery.”
She added that,”It’s not easy because people have different attitude, but with the knowledge we have from the training we got, we are succeeding, we are being listened to.”
Lami Yusuf added that, “In the course of doing this volunteer work, we have come across some women who do not understand easily and you have to find time to prepare and visit her again. We ensure that she understands that gone are those days and things have changed, and with our resilience, we have changed many mindsets. We use to advise women not to wait for their husbands to give them money before they go to hospital, because it is their bodies and they are one feeling the pain.”
She vowed to continue to sensitize the women untill everyone understands and accept that seeking medical attention in the hospital is the best and only option to take in order to live a healthy live.
Fiddausi Bala Datti who is yet to marry, studied Community Health Extension Work (CHEW), She was prompted to go beyond secondary school education level after seeing the condition of living of her peers in their matrimonial homes, they can’t help themselves any time their husbands failed to give them money.
According to her, “It is so because they don’t have something doing to get income, they over rely on their husbands for everything. I felt it’s not encouraging, if they had gone beyond secondary school, maybe they would have something doing to help themselves.”
Fiddausi Bala explained that,”I chose to study something related to health because I will help my community, because they say “health is wealth”, and they say “a healthy community is a wealthy community. I have the zeal to help the women, especially pregnant ones, their babies to live a healthy life.”
According to her, “At Mama2mama, we do a lot of sensitization campaign concerning the need for women to embrace personal hygiene, we also encourage them to go for antenatal care early, we also talk to parents to ensure that their children are fully immunized and for women to visit health facilities in case of any symptoms of fever, swelling of legs, bleeding or persistent headache during pregnancy, and honestly speaking, the women are responding positively.”
She further advised parents to ensure that the girls are giving the opportunity to reach their potentials through education for a better society, saying,”Even if they cannot go very far in terms of education, at least they should have the basics and then trained in skills to enable them stand on their own when they go to their matrimonial homes.”
An Elder in Bulkachuwa community, Abdulkadir Yahaya commended the initiative, stating that it has greatly assisted in curbing vices among the adolescents.
According to him, “These adolescent health club have been going round our community, house to house enlightening their peers on how to live a responsible live to reach their potentials and become future leaders tomorrow, we are really happy about it.”
The old man stressed that,”They have been enlightening the community members on why they should go to health facility, have their children fully immunized, go for antenatal care, environmental hygiene among other good health practices.”
Adamu Inuwa Ibrahim, Health Education Officer, Katagum LGA, while giving update on Adolescent Health Club in Katagum LGA, said that the adolescent health club in Katagum LGA were trained across five wards of the LGA last five years.
The wards include Bulkachuwa Yayu, Madara, Gambaki and Chinade saying in each ward we identified eight females and seven males, in each ward they have been conducting sessions with themselves address issues, particularly menstrual hygiene management issues and sexually transmitted infections, they have been doing sessions within themselves and they are used to mobilizing their peers to get informed about sexual reproductive health.
He said that at Bulkachuwa PHC, record indicated that the number of adult accessing family planning commodities outnumbered that of the adolescent group, saying with time, there will be great improvement.
He said that the existence of adolescent health group has changed the narrative regarding the access to health care services.
According to him, “We have seen the impact, because in the past some adolescent particularly in terms of menstrual hygiene management usually the it is considered the business of female alone but with the training they have received, the boys have been helping their younger sisters with sanitary pads, the knowledge they received have brought a lot changes within the adolescents.”
He added that,”There are some sexually transmitted infections, before the training of adolescents they use to go for traditional remedy but now they seek for solution at the health facility, once the symptoms start manifesting.”
According to him, the LGA is ensuring that enabling environment is made for the adolescents to access health services, especially at Bulkachuwa PHC which has separate place for the adolescents to get health attention.
About Author
