Foundation to FG: Address social, psychological needs of women, girls

An NGO, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), has emphasised the need to create safe space to address the psycho-social needs of young women and girls in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Country Programme Director of AHF, Dr.
Echey Ijezie, made the call in Abuja at the weekend during a workshop, lamenting that girls were challenged by components of social networking, gaps in psycho-social support, menstrual hygiene, confi dence deficits, and lack of skills to negotiate safe sex.
According to Ijezie, the programme was aimed at addressing the challenges confronting adolescent girls and young women from the ages of 14 to 24 in various communities.
“The safe space workshop provides a place for young women and girls to express emotional issues without hindrances.
It would be addressing the psycho-social impact of HIV on young women and girls while guaranteeing a safe space for interaction and networking,” he assured.
Advocacy and Marketing Manager, AHF Nigeria, Mr. Steve Aborisade, noted the psycho-social needs of young women and girls, including trauma and poverty, saying this has psychological effect on how they project themselves and interpret their roles in society.
A clinical psychologist with Gede Foundation, Mr Samuel Jinadu, underscored the need to address mental healthissues among persons living with HIV and AIDS.
Jinadu said the new mental health strategic work plan designed by the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) emphasised the inclusion of mental health and care of individuals living with HIV and AIDS.
He said studies have shown that people living with the virus and experiencing mental health challenges such as depression, have poor attitude to seeking care, which would eventually affect their treatment plan generally