The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development, Mrs. Toyin Oke-Osayintolu, says many adolescents and young people lack access to basic health care services in Nigeria.
Oke-Osayintolu made the assertion in her keynote address at the 23rd Biennial Conference of the Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria (MWAN), Lagos Branch.
The theme of the event was “Investing in the Health, Education and Well-Being of Adolescents and Young People”.
According to her, adolescents in Nigeria are a vulnerable segment of the population who face challenges related to their overall well-being, including poverty, discrimination, violence, abuse and exploitation.
These, she said, had a significant impact on their mental and physical health.
She said the present administration in Lagos State had prioritized the youth, as evident in its T.H.E.M.E.S. Plus Developmental Agenda of Social Gender Equality and Youth Engagement.
“The Ministry of Youth and Social Development has continued to provide an enabling environment for youths,” she said.
Speaking, The Chairman of the Conference, Maj.-Gen. Shina Ogunbiyi (Rtd) urged the association to improve by following policies hinged on promoting general inequalities, collaboration within the medical community and providing mentorship and support for female medical workers.
Also speaking, the 23rd President of MWAN Lagos Branch for the 2021–2023 Biennium, Dr. Ibironke Sodeinde, said the youth of today are the elders and responsible leaders of tomorrow.
Sodeinde said that the focus of the biennium had always been on diversity, inclusiveness, branded leadership and reward stewardship.
“Everyone is a stakeholder in all these, hence the call for us to invest our skills, materials, funds, resilience and proactiveness with concepts to learn new things, unlearn bad things and relearn appropriate things.
“This should be in accordance with the ever-increasing trends of advanced technology, with some probable uncertainties about options.
“We can’t continue to do things in the same way and get different and more impactful results.
“On this note, it is time again to talk, brainstorm and act accordingly,” she said.
