Save the Children has included two adolescents in the topmost committee that decides on the priorities of a project that will ensure girls are able to make informed decisions on their Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights.

The President of the Children’s Forum Network, Mamoud Barrie and Youth Champion, Salmata Davies will sit with Ministers from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education and the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs and Country Directors of Save the Children, International Rescue Committee and Plan Parenthood Association of Sierra Leone to organize and manage the general course of the Adolescent Girls’ Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights project.

The announcement was made today 31 March 2022 at the project’s National Kick Off at the Atlantic Lumley Hotel in Freetown. The Adolescent Girls’ Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights project will be implemented in Sierra Leone, Mali and Niger in the next six years. 452,106 beneficiaries will be reached in Sierra Leone

 

Mamoud and Salmata thanked Save the Children for the opportunity. They said they are thrilled to be part of a steering committee this big and promised to represent their peers adequately.

Project Director, Modupe Taiwo, said “involving adolescents in the steering committee is deliberate because these days you cannot do anything– including deciding for young people – without involving young people.”

Save the Children Country Director, Patrick Analo, said “instead of being the voice of children, Save the Children is now creating the platform for children to be the voice. This innovative approach I know will help us achieve result at scale.”

Representatives from the Ministry of Health; Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education; the Ministry of Gender and Children’s’ Affairs and Parliamentary Committee for Gender and Children’s Affairs applauded the project design and welcome its implementation. They all committed to give their full support to its implementation – including coordination and creating laws and policies.