Nigeria: Kee Foundation Makes Sex Education Call

Founder of Kee Foundation, Ifeoma Theodore, has advised parents and other stakeholders to give the necessary attention to the moral and educational development of children to make the society a better place.

She also warned parents about the danger of exposing their wards to early use of mobile phones as they might be encouraging unhealthy relationships with the opposite sex.

Theodore, in a statement, explained that exposing children to sex education at an early age cannot be overemphasised.

‘Children need more than government scholarships, school bags and other incentives, but proper knowledge of sex education in form of books will go a long way to giving every child residual knowledge needed to guide him or her’, she said.

‘Parents, teachers, and the government should give the necessary attention to the moral and educational development of children in order to make the society a better place’.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), early pregnancy among adolescents has major health consequences.

Pregnancy and childbirth complications are the top leading causes of death among girls aged 15 to 19 globally, with low and middle-income countries, including Nigeria, accounting for 99 percent of global maternal deaths of women between the ages of 15and 49.

A 2013 report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) estimated that 29.1 percent of Nigerian women gave birth before age 18, while 97.1 percent of sexually active girls aged 15 to 19 admitted to not using any form of contraception.

Similarly, a situational analysis conducted by Nigeria’s Ministry of Health, in collaboration with WHO, noted teenage pregnancy as a top priority issue for 16 out of 36 states of the country.

Photo source: GPE

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