By Philip Yatai

Some religious and traditional leaders in Kaduna State on Tuesday pledged to support a campaign to empower adolescents and young people with life skills and knowledge on family life and reproductive health.

The leaders made the commitment in Kaduna, at the end of a sensitisation meeting on the Family Life and HIV Education (FLHE) programme being implemented in the state.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the FLHE programme is being implemented by Kids and Teens Resource Centre with the support of UNESCO and the Swedish Government.

The leaders noted the lack of parental guidance and support, disrespect to cultural norms and values, peer group influence and inappropriate use of social media among young people in communities.

They also acknowledged lack of adequate sex education as well as the effect of poverty and negative social influence on the life of young people.

Speaking on behalf of the religious leaders at the meeting, Mr Tahir Ibrahim, the Imam of Masjid Salsabeel Mosque, Millennium City, Kaduna, noted that children were the pride of every family.

Ibrahim said that in view of the challenges affecting adolescents and young people, religious institutions should play critical role in sensitising parents and caregivers on good child upbringing.

“We have therefore resolved to serve as role model in sensitising our people on sex education, HIV and how to avoid premarital sex, drug abuse and other negative attitudes.

“We will also work to ensure that child molesters and rapists are punished in line with the provisions of the law,’’ he said.

Similarly, Rev. Elijah Drinks, Chairman, Kaduna North Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria, said religious leaders would use the pulpit to enlighten community members on why children must be cared for and supported.

He commended Kids and Teens for opening their eyes to the myriad of challenges affecting adolescents and the roles the religious and traditional leaders would play to address them.

Also, Alhaji Abba Jafar, Ward Head of Dahonu 11, Millennium City, Kaduna, applauded the campaign as timely considering the incidence of HIV/AIDS, drug abuse, and unprotected sex among young children.

Jafar said that as custodians of culture, the traditional leaders would do their best to promote sex education, positive use of social media and instill productive attitude among children.

Earlier, Mr Falana Martin-Mary, Chief Executive Officer of Kids and Teens, explained that the project would use school teachers and corps members to reach out to 101,000 adolescents in Kaduna State.

Martin-Mary explained while the teachers would target young children in schools, the corps members would target school children in communities.

He said that engaging the religious and traditional leaders, community groups and other government agencies was to ensure that relevant stakeholders were on the same page and each playing his or her role.

“The goal of the programme is to empower the target group with basic knowledge about family life, life skills and what HIV and AIDS is about and how to protect themselves,” he said.

Mrs Hadiza Umar, Executive Director, Hope for the Community and Child Initiative, the implementing partner in Kaduna State, thanked the stakeholders for the commitment to support the campaign.

According to her, community participation is key to the success of the programme in the state. (NAN)