The Center for Integrated Health Programs (CIHP)in Kogi State has trained about thirty young men, called “Instructors”, who are saddled with the responsibility to skillfully deliver the “NO MEANS NO” curriculum to our young boys in various Community settings which includes Primary and Secondary Schools, Churches, Mosques and other Youth Groups and Clubs.
The ‘No Means No’ program, also coined I’M SAFER, is a CDC preventive program introduced for implementation by all CDC-OVC implementing Partners, just like CIHP.
The ‘No Means No’ module for Boys and Young men is an evidence – informed Violence Prevention Curriculum, well designed to for Adolescents of ages 9-14 and is deeply rooted in a uniquely and holistic way of stopping and preventing violence in our communities.
Consequently, CIHP will be implementing the No Means No (NMN) sexual violence prevention curriculum across CIHP implementing Local Governments Areas in Kogi State.The ‘NMN’ innovation is a dual- gender program that teaches adolescent girls to set boundaries, to be assertive, stand up and defend themselves and adolescent boys, to challenge sexual violence attitudes, to always ask for consent and even intervene in any case of attacks.
The program aims at developing the mental, verbal and physical skills of young people, to prevent violence like assaults and other forms of gender based violence and to keep breaking the circle of violence in the communities for the rest of their lives.
In a welcome address, the Kogi State Director of the Center for Integrated Health Programs, Pharmacist Benard Akpah applauded the commitment and interest of the trainees during the session and implored them to be good Ambassadors on the field, emphasizing that they should be guided by the in – house acronym of COMMITMENT, INNOVATION, HONESTY and PARTNERSHIP (CIHP), as operational principles, for maximal results.
Highlights of the program includes Good-will messages by the State’s Commissiones for Women Affairs and Social Development and that of Education, respectively.
“NO MEANS NO”, CONSENT IS EVERYTHING.