The Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) and Adolescent Friendly Research Initiative and Care (ADOLFRIC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote sexual and reproductive healthcare and girl-child education.
This is contained in a news statement issued to newsmen on Thursday in Ado-Ekiti by Dr. Bamidele Atiba, the Director of Programmes, Monitoring and Evaluation, ADOLFRIC.
Explaining the objective of the initiative, the director said “The bilateral relationships primarily focuses on clinically and research-oriented preventive, curative and rehabilitative care in the areas of gender-based violence, teenage pregnancy and unsafe abortion.
“Others are sexually transmitted infection/HIV and substance abuse/mental health challenge prevention; central to which is girl-child education support.
“The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by the Vice-Chancellor of FUOYE, Prof Fasina, Abayomi Sunday and the Chief Executive Officer/Founder of ADOLFRIC, Dr. Olofinbiyi, Babatunde Ajayi’.’
Atiba quoted Prof. Fasina as saying at the event that the conceptualisation of the initiative was consequent upon his appreciation of the huge burden of reproductive health challenges and other social vices on the campus.
Fashina declared his readiness to provide all the necessary support and logistics required for the success of the established health promotion and life-saving relationship between the two organisations.
The Vice-Chancellor pledged the readiness of the institution to give preference and support to ADOLFRIC candidates seeking admission into the university to build their capacity to tackle reproductive health challenges like teenage pregnancy and gender-based violence.
The CEO of ADOLFRIC, Dr. Babatunde Olofinbiyi, had earlier in his remarks, identified the four major socio-medical challenges in all university communities as sexual and reproductive health, cyber -crime, cultism and mental health disorders.
Olofinbiyi said that mental health challenge occupied the centre of the socio-medical triangle of the health burden on campuses in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.
He further stated that ADOLFRIC mainly focuses on the sexual and reproductive health arm of the socio-medical burden of adolescents and young people.(NAN)
