ANeSA is a seven-year initiative funded by IDRC, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Global Affairs Canada. Its primary objective is to support greater realization of critical sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) by underserved populations in Africa. It will generate and promote the use of high-quality evidence on sustainable, scalable interventions to transform service design and delivery, strengthen the development and implementation of policies and legal instruments, and build equitable and sustainable health systems to address the challenges facing underserved and marginalized populations.
This initiative is important because
- SRHR are fundamental to living full healthy lives in ways that enable people to contribute to prosperous, equitable and sustainable societies.
- The international community has committed to improving SRHR through Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 5.
- In Africa, innovative approaches, powerful national and international policies and legal instruments exist to address neglected areas of SRHR. However, progress has been slowed down by several challenges, including the impact of emerging and existing infectious diseases and the effects of climate change on already weak health systems.
- Long-term consequences of inaction could include increased risks of poor maternal and newborn outcomes, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and food insecurity, as well as reduced capacity of the health system to respond to shocks.
- There is a strong and growing need for governments and civil society organizations across sub-Saharan Africa to work together to build more responsive, resilient, and integrated responses to address these intersecting challenges and improve outcomes related to critical areas of SRHR.
CPED Collaboration on the ANeSA Project
CPED got funding from the new ANeSA initiative on the project titled “Gender-transformative approaches to address unmet adolescent sexual and reproductive health needs in rural Nigeria”. This is being implemented in Bauchi State and Gombe State. During the Implementation of the project, CPED will be in partnership with Gender Awareness and Development Association (GADA), University of Windsor, Canada and the Gombe state Government through the Ministry of Health.
This project will consider how to engage and empower adolescent boys and girls and women in rural communities to become agents of change in promoting gender equality and improved delivery and acceptance of adolescent sexual and reproductive health services. It will also examine how to engage and empower policymakers on gender-transformative approaches for improving programs on adolescent sexual and reproductive health services.
Project Title: Gender-transformative approaches to address unmet adolescent sexual and reproductive health needs in rural Nigeria
Overall Objective: The overall objective of the project is to contribute to Nigeria’s achievement of SDG Goal 3 target 3.7 on “ensuring universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including contraceptives, family planning, information, education, and communication [IEC] & the integration of reproductive health into national strategies.
Specific Objectives: The project has four specific objectives organized into four work packages:
1. Formative Research/Evidence Generation: To generate robust policy-relevant evidence on the patterns and inequities in adolescents’ access to requisite adolescent sexual and reproductive health services in rural Bauchi and Gombe States.
2. Interventions in Pilot Communities: To implement and evaluate interventions that promote gender equality and adolescent sexual and reproductive health services in rural Bauchi and Gombe States through gender-transformative approaches and intersectionality.
3. Capacity Building of Key stakeholders: To train key stakeholders and promote the integration of context-specific and scalable gender-transformative approaches on ASRH services into state, sub-regional and national policies.
4. Knowledge Translation and Use of Evidence: To disseminate the results to key stakeholders, the public, and advocate for gender-transformative approaches to address unmet rural ASRH needs in Bauchi and Gombe States and Nigeria in general.
Activities and Timeline
Team Members
Principal Applicant (CPED): Prof. Andrew G. Onokerhoraye, Ph.D. (Male)
Co-Applicant CSO: Dr. Karau Maryam Shomboro, MD (GADA), (Female)
Decision-Maker Co-Applicant: Mrs. Ruth Abel M.Sc. (Female)
Co-Principal Applicant Canada-based: Prof. Francisca Omorodion Ph.D. (Female)
Engr. Job Eronmhonsele, M.Sc./MPH (Male)
Dr. Johnson DUDU, Ph.D. (Male)
Prof. Eddy Akpomera, Ph.D. (Male)
Dr (Mrs.) Bilkisu Yayaji Ahmed Ph.D. (Female)
Prof. Bibi Muhammad Ph.D. (Male)
Dr. (Mrs.) Rebecca John-Abebe, Ph.D. (Female)
Prof. (Mrs.) Barakatu Abdullahi Ph.D. (Female)
Dr. (Mrs.) Vere Balogun Ph.D. (Female) Prof. (Mrs.) May Nwoye Ph.D. (Female)
