My name is Chinasa Iyase. I'm a sexual reproductive health advocate with over seven years of experience in youth development and providing care to adolescent pregnant girls known as young moms through the Hello Lagos centre, which UNFPA funds.
I grew up in Ajegunle, a remote area of Lagos. Due to poverty, rape, and lack of knowledge about sexual and reproductive health, teenage pregnancies are common in Ajegunle. In addition, youths in these communities sometimes also abuse alcohol and drugs. I wanted to be part of the solution and I became inspired to seek ways to give young people in my community access to sexual reproductive health and right (SRHR) information and services. My goal was and is to empower them to make informed decisions after witnessing all the negative events that were occurring, like rape because I was also a victim of rape.
I realized my dream in 2015 after applying to volunteer at a civil society organization (CSO) called Youth Development and Empowerment Initiative (YEDI). UNFPA supported the organization to build the capacity of the youth volunteers as school peer educators. As a peer educator, I had the opportunity to interact and engage with both in and out-of-school adolescents on their sexual and reproductive health and rights. As a result of my passion and dedication, the organization's leadership saddled me with the responsibility to work with UNFPA and the state government in establishing the Akere young mom's clinic in a slum community in Ajeromi Ifelodun, Ajegunle, Lagos, in 2018.
The UNFPA-supported young mom's clinic provides:
- ANC care.
- SRH sessions.
- Psychosocial support and counselling.
- Recreation.
- Digital and soft skills.
- Referrals for preventing mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) and delivery with skilled birth attendants.
- Once enrolled, every young mum and her parents are supported to develop an action plan which is accessed regularly until all the objectives are achieved.
UNFPA, over the years, has provided a platform for me to reach out, provide SRH /maternal health care and transform the lives of 173 young moms. I am extremely delighted at the tremendous progress the young mums have made, as we have many who are pursuing their education and others managing their businesses. The young mums also now serve as SRHR advocates in their communities. I oversee four young moms' clinics in Lagos that UNFPA finances, and I've cascaded these innovations to the onsite project officers.
