Empowerment Through Partnership: A Holistic Approach to Adolescent Health
By Christian Njoku
Calabar, Jan. 10, 2026 (NAN)
A strategic collaboration between health leaders and the media is taking shape in Cross River State, aiming to address a critical gap in Nigeria’s development: adolescent health and empowerment. Fellows of the Federal Government’s National Health Fellowship Programme (NHFP) have articulated a foundational principle: lasting, positive change among adolescents begins with the simultaneous empowerment of both boys and girls.
During a recent courtesy visit to the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Cross River Council, NHFP fellow Ms. Catherine Modey outlined a vision that moves beyond traditional, siloed health interventions. The NHFP, an initiative designed to build a new generation of health sector leaders, is focusing its community development efforts on sustainable partnerships.
Beyond Information: The NHFP’s Dual-Pronged Strategy
Modey explained that the fellowship equips young professionals with skills in leadership, policy engagement, and project management to execute impact-driven interventions. Their strategy in Cross River is twofold:
- Inclusive Health Education: A flagship project targets approximately 700 students with comprehensive sexual and reproductive health (SRH) education. “Inclusive health education and empowering boys alongside girls are critical to achieving lasting behavioural changes,” Modey stated. This approach recognizes that educating boys reduces stigma, fosters respect, and creates supportive peer environments, thereby improving outcomes for all adolescents.
- Practical Economic Empowerment: Perhaps more innovatively, the group unveiled a pilot vocational project to train students in producing reusable sanitary pads. This initiative tackles multiple challenges at once:
- Financial Burden: It alleviates the cost burden on families for menstrual products, a significant barrier to school attendance for girls.
- Skill Acquisition: It provides tangible, income-generating skills in production and entrepreneurship.
- Sustainability & Scale: With plans to expand to rural communities, the project is designed to be self-sustaining and community-owned.
The Media’s Crucial Role as Amplifier and Ally
Reacting to the plans, the Chairman of the Cross River NUJ Council, Ms. Archibong Bassey, hailed the fellows’ commitment and pledged the media’s full support to amplify their programmes. This partnership is vital; even the most well-designed interventions fail without community awareness and buy-in.
Bassey provided practical media strategy advice, requesting regular updates and short videos to enable effective storytelling. She also highlighted a powerful synergy by mentioning her own ‘Padbank’ Mobile Outreach, which provides girls with sanitary towels and menstrual hygiene education. This revelation points to a fertile ground for collaboration, where the NHFP’s skills-training model could dovetail with the NUJ’s existing distribution network to create a more robust, systemic solution.
A Model for Integrated Development
The agreement between the NUJ and NHFP for a joint outreach represents a model for how different sectors can converge to improve public health. It acknowledges that information sharing is not merely about dissemination but about creating dialogue and normalizing crucial health conversations within communities.
This collaboration signals a move towards a more holistic understanding of adolescent empowerment—one that combines health knowledge with economic opportunity, engages all genders, and leverages the unique strengths of government fellows, local institutions, and the media to create a multiplier effect for change in Cross River State.
(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
CBN/UNS
=========
Edited by Sandra Umeh
