The Kwara Government, in collaboration with the John Hopkins Programme for International Education in Gynaecology and Obstetrics (JHPIEGO), on Thursday inaugurated six youth-friendly health centres.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the centres were inaugurated in Ogele, Asa Local Government Area of the state.

Youth-friendly health centres with books, magazines and sports facilities for young people. The initiative is also supported by the Integrated Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights and Communicable Diseases Project (iSRHR-CD).

Other partners include Global Fund and the National AIDs, STIs and Hepatitis Control Programme (NASCP).

Speaking at the inauguration, Prof. Nusirat Elelu, the Executive Secretary of the Kwara State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, said that the centres were designated across three LGAs including Asa, Offa and Moro.

"The youth-friendly health centres will help to improve access to quality healthcare for adolescents and young people in the state," she said.

Elelu explained that the intervention was targeted at adolescents, adding that this age group had been neglected over the years.

According to her, the centres were established to provide non-judgmental, confidential and accessible health services to young people and teenagers.

She stated that the initiative was in line with the commitment of Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq's administration to strengthen primary healthcare and ensure that no demographic group was left behind.

The executive secretary noted that a significant percentage of the population are young people adding that many of them avoid regular health facilities due to stigma, fear and lack of privacy.

"These youth-friendly centres are designed to bridge that gap by offering services in a safe and respectful environment.

"Healthy young people translate to a productive future. By investing in the health of our youth today, we are investing in the workforce and leaders of Kwara tomorrow," she said.

Elelu appealed to the young people in the communities to make judicious use of the facilities.

Earlier in his welcome address, the JHPIEGO Project Director, Mr William Awotunde, explained that the centres were designated across some selected PHCs in Kwara.

"A youth-friendly centre should be a place where an adolescent or young person can walk in and feel welcome, safe, respected, and comfortable enough to seek information and services without fear of judgment.

"As JHPIEGO and the iSRHR-CD Project, we are pleased to support this initiative. But we are even more pleased to hand it over to the government and people of Kwara," he said.

Awotunde urged the communities to make judicious use of the centres, while also maintaining and taking ownership of the centres.

"We believe that through continued collaboration, these spaces can become more than designated rooms.

"They can become safe spaces of trust, information, support, and access to quality health services for adolescents and young people," he said.

In his goodwill message, the Chairman of Asa LGA, Alhaji Shehu Yahaya, commended the state government and development partners for the initiative.

He lauded the initiative, which he said is targeting the most vulnerable in the society including women, pregnant women, and People Living with HIV (PLHIV).

The traditional leader of the community, the Are of Ogele, Alhaji Ishola Akanbi, appreciated the state government and development partners for the gesture.

He pledged that the community would continue to support initiatives geared towards development of the community.

Akanbi also pledged that the Ogele Community would make judicious use of the youth-friendly health centre.

NAN reports that the project aims to improve health outcomes by strengthening the delivery of integrated, patient-centred SRHR and communicable disease services, particularly for the vulnerable and underserved populations.

Some of the services at the youth-friendly health centres include sexual and reproductive health and rights, maternal and newborn health.

Others are safe motherhood and prenatal care, family planning, adolescent sexual and reproductive health, and gender and sexual reproductive rights, among others.