Posted on: Thu 14-11-2024

The Federal Government has announced plans to integrate adolescent-specific services into the primary healthcare level in the country. Minister of Health, Prof Muhammad Pate, who stated this at an event organised by the ministry in collaboration with the African Health Budget Network (AHBN), observed that the ministry is working to improve adolescent nutrition, combat gender-based violence, and ensure young people have the information they need to make informed decisions about their health.

Pate noted that adolescents face challenges ranging from mental health issues, gender-based violence, substance abuse, risky sexual behaviours, and bullying in addition to structural barriers like poverty, poor access to quality healthcare and lack of education.

He pointed out that the ministry through initiatives like the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) Project ensures that adolescent girls have access to menstrual hygiene, reproductive health education, and mental health support services.

The minister stated that the health and well-being of adolescents will determine the trajectory of the nation’s progress, adding that improving their health and resilience is not an investment in their futures but an investment in the future of communities, economy, and country.

He said: “One of the most pressing issues facing adolescents is mental health disorders such as depression, and anxiety, which are on the rise, with many young people suffering in silence due to stigma, lack of awareness, and insufficient access to care. Mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety, are pervasive in workplaces globally, impacting productivity, attendance and overall performance”.

On his part, World Health Organisation (WHO) Representative to Nigeria, Dr Walter Mulombo, said in 2019, 15 per cent of working-age adults were estimated to have a mental disorder at any point in time.

SOURCE: GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER

---

---