Society for Family Health Holds Policy Dialogue to Strengthen Adolescent Health Initiative in Nasarawa State
By Roseline Okafor- Nasarawa
The Nasarawa State House of Assembly has pledged to enact laws that will ensure the continuity of intervention programs aimed at improving the lives of citizens.
Chairman House Committee on Health, Larry Ven-Bawa, made this commitment during a two-day program organized by the Society for Family Health at Alvari Hotel, GRA Keffi, on Friday.
The two-day program, tagged ‘Policy Dialogue,’ was organized in partnership with the Nasarawa State Ministry of Health and the Society for Family Health (A360 Project), attracting the participation of commissioners, permanent secretaries, members of the House of Assembly, and health sector stakeholders to discuss health initiatives, including family planning and adolescent health.
Member representing Akwanga North and Chairman Nasarawa State House of Assembly Committee on Health, Larry Ven-Bawa, emphasized the importance of sustaining programs that positively impact the people, stated that the House would revisit the law to enact legislation supporting such programs.
“When you have a program that has a direct bearing on the people, we will not allow it to go unnoticed. The only way to sustain it is to have an instrument of law backing it. We are working round the clock to ensure that we have proper legislation to sustain the program.”
Other speakers at the event included Dr. Ibrahim Adamu, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Department; Dr. Madawa Absalom, Director of Community and Family Health Services, Nasarawa State Primary Health Care Development Agency; and Barrister Hauwa Jugbo, Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development highlighted the objective of the policy dialogue, which was to inform stakeholders about the project’s progress over the last five years.
Mr. Kenneth Okoineme, Health Governance and Public Policy Specialist at the Society for Family Health, discussed the organization’s work on Adolescent and Youth Sexual Reproductive Health and Development in Nasarawa State.
“The Society for Family Health has been working on various health initiatives in Nasarawa State, including family planning, adolescent health, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), and other public health programs”.
The stakeholders thoroughly discussed strategies to improve adolescent health outcomes in Nasarawa State.
