As the world commemorates World Population Day 2025, we join the Government of Nigeria through the National Population Commission and global partners to advance the call for leaders to prioritize young people’s needs and voices in ensuring that youth have the rights, tools, and opportunities to shape their futures.
Under the global theme “Empowering young people to create the families they want in a fair and hopeful world,” we wish to recognize that efforts across Nigeria are gaining momentum in ensuring that adolescents and young adults have the information and resources they need to make informed reproductive health choices.
This year’s theme resonates deeply across the continent, where youth make up a significant proportion of the population. Now more than ever, enabling access to accurate sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information and services is critical to achieving inclusive development outcomes.
Thirty years after the historic International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), which emphasized placing people at the centre of development, substantial progress has been made in expanding reproductive healthcare, reducing maternal mortality, and promoting gender equality.
Yet, despite these gains, millions of young people still face barriers—including stigma, misinformation, and limited access to youth-friendly services.
“Empowering young people with knowledge and access to services is not just a health issue—it’s a rights issue,” says Dr. Taiwo Johnson, a public health expert and Country Director The Challenge Initiative (TCI) Nigeria Hub.
TCI is funded by the Gates Foundation and Bayer. The Nigeria hub accelerates the scale-up of approaches and provide guidance to self-selected states, local government areas (LGAs), and partners willing to invest in family planning. “When young people are supported to make informed decisions, they become agents of change in their communities,” Taiwo adds.
Across Nigeria and Africa, community-led programs, youth networks, and health system reforms are actively bridging the gap between knowledge and access. Programs such as Life Planning for Adolescents and Youth (LPAY), initiated by TCI to equip young people with comprehensive sexuality education, are being scaled up in several states. Social and digital media platforms are increasingly used to challenge persistent myths and stigma around contraceptive use. Health workers are receiving training to offer respectful and confidential youth-friendly services, while local influencers and community leaders are helping normalize conversations about family planning in traditionally conservative spaces.
Through its support for institutional capacity building, strategic media engagement, and community mobilization, TCI has proven to be a key player in the ecosystem of youth-centred reproductive health interventions.
“This World Population Day is a reminder that young people’s needs must not be sidelined,” says Abiodun Ajayi, , LPAY Champion and Executive Director of Public Health Sustainable Advocacy Initiative (PHSAI), based in Lagos. “We need investment in education, in health systems, and in policies that give us the tools to thrive,”
A Call for Collective Action
On this day, DevComs joins TCI and other partners to call on policymakers, civil society, donors, and the media to step up efforts and investment in youth health and wellbeing. Ensuring equitable access to family planning services is not only a public health necessity, but also a foundation for sustainable development.
“Young people must be at the centre of development,” says Suliyat Eletu, Communications Program Officer at DevComs.
“Their choices matter. Their dreams matter. And with the right support, they will lead the way toward healthier families and thriving communities.”