ahmadu-bello-university-nigeria-ichar
Case study

Adolescent Health in Nigeria

The
Challenge

There is a need for evidence-based programmes to be developed tailored for adolescents in the North, and investigation into the system, community and individual level barriers to implementation.

This research will help inform co-development of a culturally-acceptable school-based programme to address the health challenges of adolescents, including information on growth and development, puberty, and sexual and reproductive health.

Nigeria has the fourth highest maternal death rate World Health Organisation

The
Approach

Lead researchers

lesley-smith

Project funded by

GCRF

Project partners

The Aga Khan University

Bayero University

Family and Youth Health Initiative (FAYOHI)

INASP

Professor Lesley Smith (Project lead), a specialist in Women's Public Health and Dr Franklin Onukwugha at the University of Hull’s Institute for Clinical and Applied Health Research have been working closely with Dr Ahmed Sarki of Aga Khan University and the team at FAYOHI (Family and Youth Health Initiative) in Northern Nigeria since 2018.

The research team developed relationships with stakeholders representing a wide range of perspectives from adolescents to policymakers, with the aim of working with them to identify problems and co-create solutions. Initial research included a needs assessment with key stakeholders including the Jigawa State Ministries of Health and Education, teachers and pupils, community-based organisations (CBOs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). An advisory board was established by the research team including representatives of each stakeholder group, UNICEF staff, the Jigawa State Commissioner for Health, Permanent Secretary Jigawa State Ministry of Education and academics from Bayero University in Kano.

A research symposium was organised in Kano, Northern Nigeria in April 2019 to engage and enable stakeholders to provide their perspectives on adolescent health. An analysis was carried out using the national data to determine the prevalence and predictors of pregnancy termination of 15-24-year-old women in Nigeria. It showed the overall proportion of and regional variations in women self-reporting termination.

Following the symposium a pilot survey was undertaken in Jigawa and Kano to investigate adolescent health issues. The project was conceived as a pilot study with the original intention to gather data on a broad area of health in two schools in Jigawa state. However, following the Kano symposium, the study was widened to also include two schools in the Kano region.

John Young and Andy Nobes from the International Network to Advance Science and Policy (INASP) joined the project in 2020 to support further policy engagement activities to take forward the research findings. The intention was to develop and test a culturally sensitive health, sustainable and replicable literacy/health promotion intervention for adolescents in Jigawa and Kano States, that could be scaled-up to other states within Northern Nigeria.

The Impact

The symposium helped to bridge the gap between the different sectors of society by bringing people together. The panel discussion provided a forum for policy-makers, traditional leaders, development programme workers, health professionals, school principals, academia, pupils and members of the community to discuss health and social problems in Northern Nigeria, and they reached an agreement that improving the health and wellbeing of adolescents was a common goal.

Insight was gained into the practical difficulties of gathering data from school students due to gatekeepers restricting access and vetoing specific aspects of the approved questionnaire. Multiple inter-related compounding issues, which adversely affect adolescent health were identified through the research, including mental health, violence, injury and substance misuse. The research revealed a strong demand for age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health information and services in the region.

The overall impact of the project was to provide evidence that adolescent sexual health is recognised as a serious health, social and economic constraint on development in the region. The project needs to move to the next phase – developing and helping local schools and other stakeholders to deliver better health services for adolescents.

Some points to highlight

  • Over the course of her lifetime, the average Nigerian woman has a 1 in 22 chance of dying during childbirth in her lifetime compared with 1 in 4,900 chance for women in high income countries such as the UK.
  • Overall, 1,069 male and female adolescents were surveyed from four schools; focus groups were also held to explore the issues further.
  • Mental health, violence, injury and substance misuse were contributing factors in poor adolescent health but the young participants demonstrated motivation and knowledge on some health topics and wanted more autonomy and reliable sources of information.
  • The research revealed a strong demand for age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health information and services in the region.