Abstract
Youth represent a tremendously valuable asset to the society therefore working with them to make a healthy transition to adulthood is critical to the world's development now and in the future. The issue of youth-friendly health service has become a matter of concern as many young people still do not have access to such in the country. The community survey was designed to generate increased understanding of the barriers that limit youth access to sexual and reproductive health services(SRH) offered by Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities in Nigeria. Stratified and Purposive Sampling with qualitative and quantitative research methodology was adopted. Qualitative data were obtained through 12 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and 48 Key Informant Interviews (KIIs). For the quantitative component, an interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to elicit information from 300 randomly selected adolescents and youth. The mean age of respondents was 18.9 ± 4.4 years. Reported barriers to youth's access to SRH services were lack of awareness (67.3%), cost of services (46.7%), negative attitude of health care providers (39.7%) and fear of parents and what people will say (32.0%). The results shows that community mobilization for awareness creation and support on SRH issues (59.3%), will support youth to better access SRH services in PHC facilities
Highlights
Adolescents (10-19 years) and young people (10-35 years) represent a significant proportion (42.4%) of Nigeria‘s population[1]
Coupled with high rates of judgmental values by adults and negative societal/cultural attitudes which deny young people access to appropriate information and services especially on sexual and reproductive health, it is not surprising that African youth currently have some of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in the world[2]
It is estimated that more than half of all new HIV infections are among young people, while between one quarter and one half of adolescent girls become mothers before they turn 18
Summary
Adolescents (10-19 years) and young people (10-35 years) represent a significant proportion (42.4%) of Nigeria‘s population[1]. For many African youth, the transition through adolescence continues to be fraught with several challenges and difficulties. These include high rates of poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and underemployment, violence, sexual coercion and exploitation, substance abuse and other deviant social behaviours. It is estimated that more than half of all new HIV infections are among young people, while between one quarter and one half of adolescent girls become mothers before they turn 18. Adolescent girls are two to five times more likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth than women in their twenties[3]
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