UNFPA warns young people against amorous living

Against the backdrop of ostentatious living by youths in the country, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)  has warned young people to abstain from promiscuous life in order not to truncate their future.

They gave the warning at a training workshop for 31 community workers in Calabar the Cross River State capital organized to enlighten the people on the need to manage and prevent HIV/AIDS for community based organization on behavioral change by UNEPA.

Tochie Edele, a representative from UNFPA and a facilitator at the workshop, said that the participants were drawn from the rural areas to help them acquire skills in tackling the scourge of HIV/AIDS in the rural communities.

Edele who spoke on `The basic facts about HIV/AIDS’, stressed the need for parents to monitor the activities and behavior of their wards.

According to her, it was important for youths to abstain from pre-marital sex, adding that an early sex life was also capable of truncating their future.

“UNFPA is an international development agency that promotes the right of every woman, man, and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. UNFPA supports countries in using population data for policies and programmes to reduce poverty and to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, and every young person is free of HIV/AIDS’’, she said.

She encouraged the participants to be agent of change in their respective communities.

Another facilitator, Olajide Sobande, who spoke on promotion of condom use in HIV/AIDS prevention, said that Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) is a health problem that affects adolescents all over the world.

“STIs can lead to severe complications and consequences in the future, so it is important for adolescents to learn how to prevent or manage the infection’’, he said.

He identified abstinence from sexual intercourse, being faithful to an un-infected partner, and the correct and consistent use of condom as some of the ways in preventing the scourge of HIV/AIDS.

One of the participants, Lillian Oyama, commended UNFPA for organising the workshop, adding that the workshop was the right step in the prevention of HIV/AIDS in rural communities.

MIKE ABANG