- October 2, 2018
- Posted by: Joshua
- Categories: Digital Blog Posts, Events
The Teen Health Conference had its maiden edition over the weekend which was held at the African Church Model College, Ifako-Ijaiye, Lagos with the theme: “Teach them, Save them”.
The conference was targeted at teenagers aged between 13 years to 19years. The conference is an initiative of MRI Medic Consulting Limited, a health consulting outfit made up of a team of doctors who sought to curb the menace of teenage pregnancy, abortion, drug abuse, sexually transmitted infections, basic first aid and fire safety by addressing these issues and guiding these teenagers with the right information.
The conference started with an opening remark by the convener of the conference, Dr Ronald Ikpe where he addressed over 350 students in attendance on the importance of the conference and what they stood to gain from it.
The first speaker was Dr. Abimbola Adenuga who took the attendees through sexuality education where she highlighted the changes that occur during puberty in both boys and girls and made them understand that these changes were perfectly normal and also emphasized on how to control the emotions that happen during this period. This was followed by a talk on teenage pregnancy and abortion by Dr Ihunna Apakama, who took them through teenage pregnancy and teenage abortion. She highlighted the complications of teenage pregnancy and abortion which included dropping out of school, infertility, damaged cervix, and even death amongst others. She advised the teenagers on how to avoid teenage pregnancy and ultimately abortion and rather focus on becoming great leaders of tomorrow.
Dr Emeka Okolo, Ceo of Doctorsquarters.com took to the podium and talked extensively on the social media pandemic. He xrayed the current situation of the craze over the social media pages of facebook, instagram and twitter. He educated these kids on the benefits of the social media and how to benefit from the social media. He ended by giving them valuable tips on how to stay safe on social media and admonished them not to neglect their studies which is the primary aim of being in school. This was followed by a question and answer session where the students were allowed to ask lots of questions that arose from topics taken in the first session.
The second session started with a lecture on Basic first aid and fire safety by Dr Ayanleke Temitayo, who took his time to educate them on basic emergencies, how to identify them and what to do during those emergencies.
Oke Bayode, a medical radiographer and cancer awareness advocate talked extensively on breast cancer and taught them on the need to know how to examine their breast every month and to report to their parents if they felt a lump as it could be an indicator of an abnormality.
Dr Folakemi Cole-Adeife, the founder of Ayuna Group and also a senior registrar in Dermato-venerology, LASUTH lectured them on the importance of skin care and personal hygiene. She revealed tips on how to maintain a healthy skin and how to avoid conditions like body odour and halitosis. She also made them know that looking clean and smelling good also boosts personal confidence. There were representatives from Sickle Cell Aid Foundation (SCAF), Lagos led by their president Okechukwu at the event and they lectured the teenagers on sickle cell disease, how to help sicklers in crisis, the features and trigger factors of a sickle cell crises and most importantly the need to know their genotypes.
A representative from Hello Lagos, a foremost youth and adolescent health advocacy group talked described what they do and how they can be found. They made them understand that they had safe spaces and very youth friendly centres where they can seek help for whatever condition they may have. She listed all the available centres in Lagos and gave out their contact number.
The event was concluded with a panel session on how to choose a career. The panel session was moderated by Kemi Olawoye, founder of Genuine Health Africa and Rhythm 93.7 host. The panelists were Dr Emeka Okolo, Ceo Doctorsquaters.com, Veralyn Okike, a change management analyst with First Bank Nigeria, Aderoju Odewade, a digital marketer and CEO of OBA Digitals and Oke Bayode, a medical radiographer. The students were allowed to ask lots of questions regarding career choices. The students expressed joy at the knowledge they had garnered at the event. It ended by a closing remark by the convener, Dr.Ronald Ikpe.
The event received great support from Doctorsquarters.com (media partner) , whytewool clothing, Wanted Stitches, Healtharmyng, Arrive alive diagnostics, Genuine Health Africa, Ariellafitness, Nurse Aid, Evolve Cosmos Allied Services ( ECAS), Squareface Media, Doctoora, Healthertainer Consults, Vibrantmeng, Ayuna Group, Health Simplex and Development Communications Network (DEVCOMMS) as media partner.
Here are pictures from the event:
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