TCI, Devcom explore solutions that break myths, misconceptions threatening life planning for Nigerian youths, adolescents

The Challenge Initiative (TCI) and their media partners, Devcom Communications, have engaged in creative pathways that would eventually lead to life planning for the Nigerian youths.

The Challenge Initiative (TCI) led by the Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, is a “business unusual” platform that empowers local governments to rapidly and sustainably scale up best-practice health interventions to benefit urban poor communities.

With the theme, “The Youth and Family Planning: Breaking Myths and Misconceptions Hindering the Reproductive Health Rights of Young People,” the Guest Speaker, Mrs Adewuyi Temidayo, Assistant Chief Health Education Officer, PHCB, Lagos, said that in speaking to the youth and adolescent about reproductive health, life planning is usually used instead of family planning as many of them feel that FB is strictly meant for the married people.

The event was held on the X (formerly Twitter) platform, on June 5, 2025.

She said the youth have the right to access family planning even as she said many of them are already sexually active and should be provided with the right knowledge about family planning.

Temidayo said many youths are not knowledgeable enough and stressed on their right to access the right information, stressing on the need for constant engagement with the youths both in schools where they are encouraged to visit health facilities to gain life planning knowledge and access available methods if need be to avoid unwanted pregnancies and to make them responsible in their behavior.

She recalled that in the olden days the young ones were not exposed to sex education, but called on parents and teachers to discover the need to start sex education for their wards. She also dismissed the erroneous believe that sex education was designed to make the youth to be promiscuous, saying that it was meant to be an open conversation that leads to knowledge. “They should visit youth friendly facilities at the primary health centres where the youths are guided. It is about time we talk about youth, to build them, trust and shape them for adulthood.”

She said the media is indispensable in this process of building a healthy youth as they help to counter misinformation, myths and build healthy living.

On the role of government, Temidayo disclosed that the government is doing a lot in ensuring that youth friendly services are accessible, adding that the government has also trained a good number of heath officers, to offer the life planning services, through outreaches, engagements and dialogues, while also commending the role of The Challenge Initiative, TCI, in sensitizing the youths and Adolescents and also actually providing commodities to complement what government is providing.

Speaking on available methods which the young ones could easily access at the facilities, she mentioned implant, injectable, pills and condoms, adding that most health centres have a section devoted to the youth where very friendly health experts guide them with information that lead them to make informed choices, and without being judgemental.

At the event moderated by Zainab Fakunle, a Broadcast Journalist, Temidayo encouraged the youths and adolescents to freely visit any of the facilities at the health centres. She also stressed that there are various methods and if one method is not suitable, another method is readily available and added that the rate off side effects are very minimal.

Temidayo also made it clear that it is not the responsibility of only the girl to prevent pregnancy, adding that the man should also wear condom before having intercourse with his partner. She said, “This is not about encouraging them, if they are sexually active, they should be on a method to prevent pregnancy and also protect themselves against sexually transmitted diseases (STD).