Onelife Initiative, a non-profit organisation with offices in Oyo, Ekiti and Akwa Ibom, has partnered with Ipas Nigeria to offer comprehensive sexuality education to close to 2,000 females across four local government areas in Oyo State, Nigeria.

According to a statement issued by the organisation, the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Information (SRHR)-themed training will also include information dissemination on the risks attached to unsafe abortion.

READ ALSO: Onelife Initiative Partners Hospital to Offer Free Care for FGM survivors

“The project seeks to reduce repeated incidences of maternal mortality common among adolescent girls and young women, particularly those caused by unsafe abortion,” read a statement signed by ‘Sola Fagorusi, the Executive Director of Onelife Initiative.

“Evidences show that this is mainly due to lack of access to accurate and appropriate information on reproductive health and rights especially when faced with instances of unplanned pregnancy. Unsafe abortion accounts for about 40% of maternal mortality and morbidity in Nigeria.”

For a period of four days, 30 select female peer educators and near-peer educators were trained by seasoned professionals such as Dr. Akintunde Fehintola and Dr. Ayodele Stephen, both Obstetrics and Gynaecology consultants; Princess Emele, Grace Ifenne, and Tamilore Omojola.

“This project made us have bare contact with the huge unmet reproductive health and rights needs of girls and women in the four local governments the project is focusing on in Oyo State,” Fagorusi added.

READ ALSO: NIPOST Officials Extort N37,000 from Software Engineer over ‘German Package’

“From our interaction with girls and women in Atiba, Ibadan North, Oluyole, and Akinyele Local Government Areas, they mentioned that it was the first time anyone was speaking to them about safe management of unintended pregnancies.

“Our session also explored the adoption process in Oyo State. The online and offline sessions on WhatsApp, and the community sensitisation events are also part of our approaches asides the physical cohort sessions holding in those communities.”

READ ALSO: ‘Over 50 Female Pupils Raped by Rivers Teachers in Four Months’

The training’s target beneficiaries are artisans, out-of-school students, senior in-school students, and undergraduates.

It is also projected that by the end of May, the 30 peer and near-peer educators would have directly reached over 1,700 females under the age of 35.