OUR WORK WITH YOUNG PEOPLE, PARENTS, AND POLICY MAKERS ADVANCES YOUNG PEOPLE’S HEALTH AND WELL-BEING

Action Health Incorporated (AHI) is a non-governmental organization established in 1989 and dedicated to promoting young people’s health and development to ensure their successful transition to healthy and productive adulthood.

AHI advances this agenda by working with young people, parents, community opinion leaders, youth-serving organizations, government agencies and policy makers to:

  • Promote and protect young people’s sexual and reproductive health especially, increasing their ability to prevent early pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS and making informed choices about their sexuality free of discrimination, coercion, and violence; as well as developing competencies to thrive now and in adulthood;
  • Increase community awareness and action on challenges youth face so that policies and programmes are put in place to effectively address these issues; and
  • Build alliances to increase the number of government, private sector, and civil society programmes offering support and life-enhancing opportunities for young people.

Over the last 34 years, AHI has worked to assure that both private and public sector programmes include comprehensive, gender-sensitive, life skills and rights-based approaches to sexuality education and clinical services for youths.  During this period, AHI has developed models that have been adopted and expanded by government and other civil society organizations. Some key accomplishments include:

  • Successful advocacy for approval of the national education policy for universal access to sexuality education targeted at young people in Nigeria; and development of the National Family Life and HIV Education Curriculum for primary, secondary and tertiary levels in collaboration with education stakeholders.
  • Facilitating the development of the Family Life and Emerging Health Issues Curriculum for Colleges of Education in Nigeria in collaboration with the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE)
  • Catalyzing/operationalizing Youth-Friendly Health Services in partnership with stakeholders to promote young people’s access to age-appropriate, gender sensitive, sexual and reproductive health information and services in several states of Nigeria.
  • Published reviews and situation analyses on the sexual and reproductive health of married adolescent girls in Northern Nigeria and expanding their access to services in four northern states including facilitating the return of married girls to school.
  • Raising greater awareness about the vulnerabilities of out-of-school adolescent girls in the urban slums of Lagos and facilitating advocacy to improve policy and programming response.

AHI has received national and distinguished international awards in recognition of the impact of the organization’s work including the World Association for Sexual Health (WAS) Award for Excellence & Innovation in Sexuality Education, and The MacArthur Foundation Award for Creative and Effective Institutions.

Our Donors

Cummins
Cummins is a leading, global power technology company that specializes in diesel and alternative fuel engines and generators, and related components and technology.

IDRC
The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is part of Canada’s foreign affairs and development efforts that champions and funds research and innovation within and alongside developing regions to drive global change.

Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps is a global team of humanitarians working together on the front lines of today’s biggest crises to create a future of possibility, where everyone can prosper.

OCHA / NHF
The Nigeria Humanitarian Fund (NHF) is a rapid and flexible funding mechanism managed by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and supporting Nigerian NGOs, international NGOs and UN agencies, to respond to the most pressing or critical emergencies in a fast-changing environment.

PCD
The Partnership for Child Development (PCD) is a research and technical assistance group based at Imperial College London that seeks to improve health and nutrition in school-age children and youth in low-income countries, thereby improving their education outcomes.

UNESCO
UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It contributes to peace and security by promoting international cooperation in education, sciences, culture, communication and information.

UNFPA
UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency and its mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.