FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ogun State, Nigeria – Nov. 18, 2024:
The African Girls Empowerment Network (AGE Network), a leading young women’s rights organization in Nigeria, has launched the Chat4Health campaign in partnership with PEPFAR Nigeria, Gilead Sciences Inc., and African Women Development Fund to tackle the rising cases of HIV, reduce unintended pregnancies, and end the stigma faced by adolescents and young people and key population living with HIV. The campaign also aims to improve access to sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) information, particularly in underserved communities across Ogun State.
https://youtu.be/62pKm6FgWW0?si=mgh1GeMa2jXmxaNl
As part of its stakeholder engagement efforts, the AGE Network team, led by its Administrator, Ms. Matina Ebri, conducted advocacy visits to the Ogun State AIDS Control Agency (OGSACA) and the Ministry of Health’s Public Health Department. The visits which took place on Monday, October 28, 2024, in Abeokuta Ogun State capital, aimed to introduce the Chat4Health program and seek technical collaboration.
Speaking during the visits, Ms. Matina disclosed that the core focus of the Chat4Health campaign is to provide confidential, stigma-free, and accessible health information through targeted activities including a weekly live radio program currently running on Women Radio WFM 91.7 and a dedicated WhatsApp chatbot called “Chat4HealthBot”
https://youtu.be/vQWTK-xaA6I?si=C0dEQjXTmKiGyw4l
“Our goal is to empower adolescents and young people with accurate information and resources and with our live radio program and ChatHealthBot on their mobile devices, they will be able to make informed health decisions, access HIV prevention, treatment, and care, and reduce their vulnerability to sexually transmitted infections.” Ms. Ebri emphasized:
Ms. Ebri further noted that the campaign will address the critical challenges faced by young people in hard-to-reach areas, including limited access to SRHR services and the stigma surrounding HIV.
At OGSACA, Mrs. Mayungbe Temidayo, Community mobilization Officer, commended AGE Network’s initiative and advised that local AIDS control agencies (LACA) should be involved to strengthen grassroots implementation. She also recommended a stakeholder engagement meeting to collectively develop the content and structure for the Chat4HealthBot.
The Ministry of Health echoed similar support. Dr. Deborah Osisanwo, Deputy Director of Public Health, pledged collaboration on live radio health sessions and proposed the inclusion of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and the Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria to expand the campaign’s impact.
During the advocacy visits, Ms. Esther Asuquo, a member of AGE Network, highlighted the organization’s past efforts, including HIV testing and sensitization campaigns in Ado-Odo Ota and Ifo Local Government Areas. She shared a recent success story where those who tested positive during the screening exercise were promptly referred for treatment.
“We have been working closely with the Local AIDS Control Agency at the local levels particularly in Ado-Odo Ota and Ifo Local Government Areas advocating for the health and well-being of vulnerable populations, especially in underserved communities, through direct engagement, conducting voluntary HIV testing exercise, counseling, and referrals and those tested positive have been referred and picked up by the LACA officials . Said Ms. Asuquo.
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Notes to Editors
African Girls Empowerment Network (AGE Network), is a registered young women and girls-led group dedicated to reducing gender inequality by empowering and advancing the human rights, good health, and well-being and inclusion of adolescents and young people, particularly young women and girls and key populations as well as strengthening the capacity of young women’s and girls’-led groups in Nigeria. (www.agenetwork.org, stem.agenetwork.org)
AGE Network holds a Consultative Status at the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and is the lead organization and secretariat for the “Belle by Choice Movement” and the “Moment for Women Alliance.”