Years of armed conflict, displacement and disrupted public services have cut adolescents in northeast Nigeria off from education, health care and protection. In Borno State’s Konduga and Monguno local government areas, young people also lack safe spaces to ask questions about their bodies and health, and stigma keeps many from seeking help. Evidence the report cites suggests peer education is likelier to improve service use when linked to health facilities than when it only raises awareness.

Under the IRC’s PRET-SRHR project (Partnering for Resilience to Emergencies through Transformation of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights), 16 trained mentors aged 18 to 24 led 24-week group sessions using the IRC’s Girl Shine life skills curriculum, adapted for girls and boys. Sessions covered safe spaces, social and emotional learning, health and hygiene, and safety, and connected adolescents to health and protection services through referral links.

Over the first two years, the program directly supported 160 adolescents through peer-led learning, and awareness sessions on gender-based violence and sexual and reproductive health reached 1,755. The report also records 616 girls under 18 receiving skilled birth attendance and 346 adolescents receiving care for sexually transmitted infections. It recommends expanding the model to more communities in Borno State and pairing life skills with livelihood training, which many adolescents wanted and the project’s scope did not cover.

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