INTRODUCTION

Adolescents have been defined by the world health organization as been the ages of between 10 and 19 years and are at this period they encounter various physiological and psychological issues. A successful journey through adolescence requires passage through many different stages including psychological, cognitive and physiological ones. An integral aspect of these stages is the development of the adolescence as a sexual being.1 A major issue concern arises from premarital sexual activities among young people that are the possibility of contracting sexually transmitted diseases, including the deadly pandemic disease of this time – human immuno – deficiency virus (HIV).

Developing strategies to address the reproductive health needs and concerns of the adolescents in Nigeria poses a major public health challenge. One of the factors contributing to this challenge is the sheer size of the adolescent population in the country. Adolescents account for a significant proportion (20%) of Nigeria's population of 140 million.2 The second challenge is that a significant proportion of the Nigerian adolescents engage in risky practices including unprotected sex with multiple partners For example, in a study conducted at Ile-Ife South Western Nigeria on male adolescents aged 15-19 years and found that 76% of the secondary school youths had been sexually active within the past 12 months, 5% with prostitutes and 56% with more than one partner, but that only 8% had used a condom during that year.3 Consequently, adolescents and other young adults account for a high proportion of sexually transmitted diseases (STD)

including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the country.4 In another study of patients attending an STD clinic in Ibadan, it was found that the peak prevalence (65%) of HIV infection was among those aged 21-30 years, most of who were probably infected during adolescence, persons aged less than 24 years accounted for 10% of all HIV infections compared to 5.4% for adults.

Individuals researchers and non-govern-mental youth serving organizations (YSO) have responded to these challenges by implementing several reproductive health promotion programs to increase adolescents' knowledge of reproduction, HIV/AIDS and influence risky sexual behaviors targeting in-school and out-of school adolescents.6,7 Despite these efforts, the reproductive health needs of the majority of adolescents remain neglected because these programs have been implemented on a small scale, are of limited duration, and are concentrated in urban areas, even though the majority of adolescents live in rural communities.

Although schools are important potential sources of reproductive health education for adolescents, these institutions have not reached their full potential because the Nigerian government has not yet formally introduced reproductive health education into existing curricula. As a result, all school-based reproductive health programs have utilized an extra-curricular approach including peer education in which trained students inform,counsel, and distribute non-prescriptive contraceptives to their colleagues. Other school-based programs have trained teachers who deliver reproductive health education including HIV/AIDS prevention as part of extra-curricula activities in schools.

Glossary

 Knowledge Knowledge definition

Clear awareness or explicit information about something or in-depth awareness.

Knowledge of STD/HIV/AIDS

Complete knowledge of HIV/AIDS implies having knowledge on:

- Mode of transmission of HIV

- Presentation on AIDS

Methods of HIV/AIDS prevention

- Partial knowledge of HIV/AIDS implies having knowledge on either one or two of the above.

- No knowledge of HIV/AIDS implies not having knowledge on any of the above.

b. Attitude Attitude definition

- Tendency to do something or not to do at all or an opinion or general feeling about something.Attitude to premarital sex, multiple sexual partners and prostitution
- Positive attitude implies dislike to premarital text, multiple sexual partners and prostitution, while negative attitude is the reverse. Attitude to sex education and use of condom
- Positive attitude implies approval for sex education to be introduced, while the negative is the reverse.

c. Behaviour Behaviour definition

- The way in which person, organism or group responds to a specific condition or it is a believe and attitude.