The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Nigeria has raised serious concern over the increasing rate of HIV infections among young women, revealing that about 4,000 females aged 15 to 24 are newly infected each week, with over 3,300 of those cases occurring in sub-Saharan Africa.
In a statement issued ahead of the 2025 International Day of the Girl (IDG), AHF Nigeria’s Advocacy and Marketing Manager, Steve Aborisade, urged governments to scale up investments in HIV and STI prevention, testing, and treatment, as well as implement policies that improve access to healthcare, education, and reproductive health services.
Aborisade announced that to commemorate the Day of the Girl, AHF Nigeria would host an empowerment event on October 10 at Community Commercial Secondary School, Ikot Oku Ubo, Uyo. The event will focus on promoting menstrual health, leadership, and education, while recognising innovative ideas from girls and distributing free sanitary pads.
He added that civil society partners, including CISHAN, CCCRN, and ECEWS, will participate in the event, alongside representatives from the Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Women Affairs.
AHF Nigeria Country Programme Director, Dr. Echey Ijezie, decried the challenges facing young girls, such as inadequate menstrual health support, gender-based violence, and poor access to s+xual and reproductive healthcare.
“At AHF Nigeria, we are deeply concerned about the barriers confronting young girls. Every week, thousands become infected with HIV due to inequality, limited education, and poor access to health services,” he said.
Ijezie further disclosed that in 2023, an estimated 1.9 million adolescent girls and young women were living with HIV globally, compared to 1.2 million boys and young men.
He noted that the International Day of the Girl, celebrated annually on October 11, serves as an opportunity to honour girls’ achievements and push for policies that protect and empower them.Continue, Full, Reading>>>>
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