A non-governmental organisation, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF – Nigeria), under its STYLE UP concept has unveiled a ‘Boys 2 Men’ programme to provide support for boys during adolescence to adulthood transition period.
The organisation’s Advocacy and Marketing Manager, Steve Aborisade, in a statement on Tuesday said that the programme which was unveiled in Calabar, Cross River State, seeks to affirm the need for individuals (boys and girls) to be updated, trendy, in-vogue with their overall lifestyle and well-being, while taking ownership and responsibility for their health.
He said “sustained health promotion” should be at the centre of it all.
He explained that the Program is intended to “bridge knowledge gap on HIV, STIs and risky behaviours” while at the same time promoting “behaviour change” so as to build self-esteem, life skills and creates avenue for mentorship.
Five schools in Calabar were involved in the maiden Boys 2 Men program, with each sending 10 students accompanied by a teacher.
Aborisade stated that ‘‘Adolescence is the period that boys learn to be men, a period that stereotypical ‘men ways’, can continue into adulthood, which may then be passed across to their own male children. The implication of this for the coming generation and the negative impact on boys and men themselves is one justification for this program to be initiated’’.
AHF-Nigeria Cross River State Clinical Coordinator Dr. Ifeanyi Udenko, stressed on the fact that “overlooked boys turn to overlooked men and they are usually the perpetrators of evil in future”.
He encouraged all the students to feel safe during the event and feel free to share experiences with each other.
The ‘Boys 2 Men’ programme targets boys from age 10 to 24.
