Experts raise alarm over youth sexual health risks at NSSF WeNaija Fest

The Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund (NSSF) has convened the 2025 edition of the WeNaija Youth Fest in Lagos, focusing on bridging the gaps in sexual and reproductive health education among young Nigerians

The annual event, held at the MTN Plaza Rooftop in Ikoyi, gathered health experts, youth advocates, community leaders and young participants from across the country for a full day of discussions, advocacy training and a youth creativity contest.

Speaking on the vision behind the initiative, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NSSF, Dr Fejiro Chinyere-Nwoko, said the WeNaija platform was designed to equip young people, who make up more than 70 per cent of Nigeria’s population, with the knowledge and tools needed to advocate for improved health outcomes in their communities.

She said many young Nigerians are eager to engage in public health advocacy but often lack reliable information, access to data and opportunities to collaborate with institutional stakeholders.

“Most of the time they don’t have information, they don’t have data to be able to advocate,” she said.

“WeNaija is that platform where we give them access to data and to stakeholders, government officials, NGOs and civil society working to improve the health system,” she added.

Chinyere-Nwoko said this year’s theme, comprehensive sexual and reproductive health, was chosen by the young people themselves after identifying it as one of the most pressing health challenges affecting their peers.

She explained that the volume and content of submissions for this year’s WeNaija contest revealed the scale of the problem.

“We received over 400 entries and one thing that stood out was that sexual health challenges have become a salient issue,” she said, adding, “Many people assume that if they are older, they know about their sexual health, but there is a lot of ignorance. We hope to bridge that gap.”

A public health expert, Dr Oyindamola Alabi, led a session on comprehensive sexuality education and said the lack of structured, fact-based information continues to expose young people to preventable risks. She said available data shows that children between the ages of eight and 12 are already becoming exposed to sexual activity, underscoring the need for early engagement.

“The statistics are alarming,” she said, adding, “We still have high teenage pregnancy rates, high unsafe abortion rates and rising HIV incidence among young people because they are not getting proper sexuality education.”

A Medical Doctor and co-founder of the sexual health startup TryPrivHealth, Dr Olusina Ajidahun, said the creativity displayed by participants showed that young Nigerians are increasingly eager to speak openly about sexual health despite the country’s conservative environment.

“Young people explored the topic from different angles and it was clear that they know the system is not working the way it should,” he said.

Five winners emerged from the 2025 WeNaija contest. The fifth runner-up received N200,000 and a laptop; the fourth runner-up, N300,000 and a laptop; the third runner-up, N400,000 and a laptop; and the second runner-up, N500,000 and a laptop. The overall winner went home with N1 million and a brand-new laptop, totalling N2.4 million in cash prizes.

The festival also featured capacity-building sessions on youth advocacy, panel discussions with public health and religious leaders, and an awards ceremony for outstanding youth advocates.

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