Educate For Health Initiative, Nigeria
Founded by Ujam Blessing Somtochukwu, in September 2021, with a mission to improve adolescents' and youth sexual health by empowering them with age-appropriate, culturally relevant and scientifically accurate information they need in order to make good and informed decisions about their sexual health, develop values and attitudes compatible with health goals and the skills to behave in conformity with their knowledge and values. The group places great emphasis on outreach, educational projects and community sensitisation programmes aimed at promoting positive health outcomes in adolescents and young people living in resource-poor settings and who are most vulnerable to acquiring HIV/AIDS amongst other STDs. The group's outreach also focuses on reducing early child marriage, early motherhood, female genital mutilation and other harmful practices that increase the risk of HIV/AIDS, limits a girl's access to education and denies her a healthy sexual life in the long run. The initiative addresses these challenges by reaching out to adolescent girls and young women and empowering them with the basic information and services they need to help improve their health and awareness. Additionally, the group engages communities through dialogue and collective action to raise awareness and interest in the promotion of reproductive and sexual rights issues among the young people, especially women's health, gender equality and access to sexual education and services. Currently, the group is working to combat stigma against young people living with HIV/AIDS in rural communities by creating safe spaces for them to exercise and focus on their health, discuss, inform others, ask questions, share experiences and learn from each other in a peer environment, as well as being able to receive counseling and support.