Adolescent health stakeholders have called for robust partnership and collaboration to harness Nigeria’s policy on adolescents’ and youths’ health and secure the nation’s future.
They made the call on Sunday at the Stakeholders Forum on Adolescent and Youth Health Policy in Nigeria.
The University of Ibadan (UI) Research Foundation organised the forum as part of the activities for the 76th Founder’s Day celebration of the institution.
In his address, the keynote speaker, Prof. Adesegun Fatusi, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo State, lamented that many young Nigerians died of preventable causes.
According to him, the best investment anywhere in the world that any society can make is in the lives of young people.
“This is because they are leaders today making the move for tomorrow.
“Today, you can protect their health because a lot of young people are dying, and they are dying of preventable causes.
“So, if we invest in their lives appropriately, it means we can secure their today and tomorrow.
“This is because most of the diseases that happen in adulthood have to do with behaviours that start at the adolescent stage.
“And, because they are the next generation of parents, when you invest in them, you are investing in the children of tomorrow. So, it is the best investment any society can make,” Fatusi said.
He noted that unfortunately: “We have been careless and lackadaisical about investing in the adolescents and the youths.
“But things are improving a little bit now, but we need to do far better than what we have done.”
Also, Prof. Akin Abayomi, the Chairman of the occasion and Lagos State Commissioner for Health, said that 50 per cent of Nigerians were under the age of 20 years, hence the need to invest in them.
Abayomi said: “We are moving out of the era of mineral wealth into the era of the knowledge economy.
“Everybody is talking about artificial intelligence and machine learning.
“We are moving into an era where we can accelerate knowledge, and so we depend on a healthy youth and a healthy education.
“We are dependent on you to generate that knowledge that our economy now depends on.”
Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor of UI, Prof. Kayode Adebowale, said the UI-Research Foundation had developed a platform aimed at tapping into valuable gem deposits to support decision-makers.
According to him, it will aim at efforts to foster asset-based impact-driven strategies and policy options in Nigeria.
“This aim is to enhance the benefits of the advances in science for policy actions and especially for adolescents and youths health in Nigeria,” he said.
The VC, who was represented by Deputy Vice-Chancellor Administration, Prof. Peter Olapegba, said the contribution of each leader and the commitment of the university would make the mission a reality in Nigeria.
In his address, the Director, UI Research Foundation Ibadan, Prof. Ayoade Oduola, said the forum was to get the input of stakeholders on how best to implement a town-to-gown initiative.
Oduola said the knowledge from the university would be used to work with implementers and decision-makers in the ministries and local government areas on the interventions that would improve adolescent health.
