The conversation about sex education in Nigeria has always been complicated, caught between cultural values, religious beliefs, and mounting public health concerns. But here’s what the evidence shows; Twenty-three percent of women aged 15-19 have begun childbearing that’s nearly one in four teenage girls. Nigeria also has the highest number of adolescents living with HIV in West and Central Africa, with 190,000 cases. These aren’t just statistics. They’re daughters, sisters, students, young people whose futures are being shaped by what they don’t know as much as what they do.

When we move beyond discomfort and give young people comprehensive, age-appropriate information about their bodies and health, they make safer, more informed choices. Not because we’re encouraging them to be sexually active, but because knowledge is the foundation of protection.

In 2003, Nigeria introduced the Family Life and HIV Education curriculum into schools, a significant step toward addressing adolescent reproductive health. The curriculum covered important topics: human development, relationships, sexual health, STIs, and HIV prevention. By 2008, 34 states were implementing it at various stages.

Twenty years later, the results are mixed. While some gains have been recorded in higher knowledge scores on health issues, better understanding of gender equality, and increased ability to delay sexual activity, the reach of the program remains inadequate. Research shows that only about 48 percent of Nigerian adolescents receive any form of sexuality education, despite 84 percent saying they need it.

The gap is even wider when you look at who’s being reached. Many programs focus only on in-school youth, leaving out the millions of out-of-school adolescents who are often at even higher risk. In non-formal settings like vocational schools, over 70 percent of participants are female young women who left formal education due to poverty, early marriage, or pregnancy. These are precisely the young people who need comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information the most.

And even among those receiving education, the quality and consistency vary dramatically. Some schools teach the curriculum thoroughly, others barely touch it, and many parents and communities actively resist it, fearing it will encourage sexual activity. Meanwhile, their children are getting information from peers, social media, and sometimes from painful personal experience.

The fear that sex education encourages sexual activity is perhaps the biggest obstacle to progress. It is an understandable concern parents want to protect their children. But the evidence consistently demonstrates otherwise as comprehensive sex education does not increase sexual activity among young people. In fact, it does the opposite.

A recent study from Ekiti State in 2025 examined the relationship between sexuality education and sexual debut among secondary school students. The findings were clear: students who received comprehensive sexuality education were significantly more likely to delay sexual activity. They also demonstrated higher knowledge about STIs, contraception, and the consequences of early sexual debut.

When Lagos State piloted a comprehensive sex education curriculum in five vocational schools in 2019, the results were striking. The program didn’t just improve knowledge, it changed behaviors and attitudes. Students showed notable shifts in their views on harmful traditional practices like female genital mutilation. They reported increased confidence in negotiating safe sex and saying no to unwanted sexual advances. Perhaps most importantly, they became resources for their peers, siblings, and friends, sharing accurate information in their communities.

Research published in 2024 comparing students exposed to CSE with those who weren’t found that sexuality education benefits extended beyond the students themselves. Teachers who delivered the curriculum reported gaining new skills not just for teaching, but for parenting their own children. They felt more equipped to have difficult conversations and provide guidance without judgment.

The evidence is consistent across multiple studies: comprehensive sexuality education leads to later onset of sexual activity, reduced risky behaviors, higher contraceptive use among sexually active teens, decreased rates of teenage pregnancy and STIs, and improved gender equality and respect in relationships.

Traditional approaches to adolescent sexuality in many Nigerian communities center on a single message: abstain. While abstinence is certainly the safest choice for adolescents, and should absolutely be emphasized as the recommended option, an abstinence-only approach has critical limitations. It leaves young people unprepared for the realities they may face peer pressure, coercion, curiosity, or the simple fact that some will choose to become sexually active regardless of what adults tell them.

Comprehensive sexuality education doesn’t abandon the abstinence message. Instead, it builds on it. It says: abstinence is the safest choice, AND here’s information about your body, your rights, how to recognize and avoid risky situations, what consent means, how STIs are transmitted and prevented, what to do if you find yourself in a difficult situation, and where to get help if you need it.

This approach respects young people’s intelligence and agency. It treats them not as problems to be controlled, but as individuals capable of making informed decisions when given accurate information and supportive guidance.

Consider what comprehensive sexuality education actually includes, adapted appropriately for different age groups. For younger adolescents (ages 10-14), the focus is on understanding physical and emotional changes during puberty, recognizing and respecting personal boundaries, understanding the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships, and knowing where to go for help with questions or concerns.

For older adolescents (ages 15-19), content becomes more detailed: comprehensive information about STIs, HIV, and prevention methods; understanding contraception and family planning; recognizing and preventing sexual coercion and abuse; developing skills to negotiate relationships and make healthy choices; and connecting with appropriate health services and support.

Notice what’s absent from this list: encouragement of sexual activity. What’s present instead is empowerment. The tools young people need to protect themselves, respect themselves and others, and make choices aligned with their values and futures.

The Cultural Conversation We Need to Have

Many parents and community leaders worry that sex education contradicts cultural and religious values. This concern deserves serious consideration. Nigerian societies have strong traditions around modesty, family honor, and the appropriate contexts for discussing sexuality. These values aren’t wrong; they reflect legitimate desires to protect young people and maintain community standards.

But we have to ask ourselves: are we actually protecting our young people by keeping them uninformed? When 23 percent of teenage girls are already having babies, when HIV infection rates among adolescents remain high, when unsafe abortions are contributing to maternal mortality can we honestly say that silence and shame are serving our children well?

Comprehensive sexuality education can and should be delivered in ways that respect cultural and religious values. It doesn’t require promoting values that conflict with community beliefs. What it does require is honesty about the realities young people face and the information they need to navigate those realities safely.

Parents have every right to teach their children their family’s values about sexuality, relationships, and marriage. Comprehensive sexuality education supports that. What it adds is factual, medical, and safety information that all young people need, regardless of their families’ values, information about how their bodies work, how diseases are transmitted, how to recognize abuse, and where to get help.

Research shows that parental involvement actually strengthens the effectiveness of school-based sexuality education. When parents and schools work together, providing consistent, age-appropriate information, young people benefit most. The problem is that many parents feel ill-equipped to have these conversations. They didn’t receive this education themselves, and they’re unsure how to start.

This is where comprehensive sexuality education programs can support families, not replace them. By providing parents with resources, guidance, and sometimes even parallel education sessions, programs can strengthen family communication rather than undermining it.

In 2019, when the comprehensive sexuality education curriculum was introduced in Lagos vocational schools, the implementers knew they faced significant challenges. These weren’t traditional secondary schools with motivated students preparing for university. These were young people, primarily girls who’d already left formal education. Many came from poverty. Some had experienced abuse or early marriage. Most had received little to no information about sexual and reproductive health.

The program took a holistic approach. It didn’t just lecture students about anatomy and disease prevention. It created safe spaces where young people could ask questions without judgment. It used peer educators who could relate to students’ experiences. It addressed not just the mechanics of sexuality, but the emotional, social, and relational aspects. It connected students with health services they could actually access.

The results demonstrated what’s possible. Students didn’t just learn facts, they developed skills and confidence. Young women who’d been passive in relationships learned to advocate for themselves. Students who’d believed harmful myths learned the truth. And crucially, they became resources for their communities, sharing accurate information with siblings, friends, and partners.

One instructor noted that the training changed not just her teaching but her parenting: “I used to avoid talking about these things with my own daughter. Now I have the words and the confidence to guide her properly.” This ripple effect where education reaches beyond the initial recipients to families and communities is precisely how lasting change happens.

Nigeria doesn’t need to start from scratch. The Family Life and HIV Education curriculum exists. Guidelines for comprehensive sexuality education have been developed. Some states and schools are already implementing effective programs. What we need is scale, consistency, quality, and community support.

Scaling Up: Successful pilot programs in Lagos and other states have shown what’s possible. These models need to be expanded nationwide, with particular attention to reaching out-of-school youth, rural communities, and regions with the highest rates of teenage pregnancy and HIV.

Quality Assurance: Having a curriculum isn’t enough if teachers aren’t properly trained to deliver it, if materials aren’t available, or if implementation is half-hearted. Teachers need comprehensive training, ongoing support, and appropriate resources. They also need protection from community backlash when they teach these topics faithfully.

Community Engagement: The most effective programs actively involve parents, religious leaders, and community stakeholders from the beginning. When communities help shape programs to align with local values while maintaining core health content, resistance decreases and support increases.

Youth Involvement: Young people themselves need to be part of designing and delivering programs. Peer education works. Youth advisory boards ensure programs are relevant and accessible. When we respect young people as partners in their own health education, outcomes improve.

Integration with Services: Information without access to services is insufficient. Comprehensive sexuality education should be linked with youth-friendly health services where adolescents can access contraception, STI testing and treatment, and counseling without judgment.

Building a Healthier Future Together

At The Ridd Aid Foundation, we’re committed to evidence-based approaches that actually protect young people. We believe Nigerian adolescents deserve comprehensive information about their bodies, their health, and their rights. Not because we want to undermine cultural values or encourage risky behavior, but because we know that knowledge is the foundation of protection.

We’re working to build programs that respect Nigerian cultures while acknowledging the realities young people face. Programs that partner with parents rather than replacing them. Programs that empower young people to make informed choices aligned with their own values and futures. Programs grounded in research about what actually works, not what adults wish would work.

The statistics that opened this article 23 percent of teenage girls beginning childbearing, 190,000 adolescents living with HIV; those numbers represent preventable outcomes. Not all of them, certainly. But many. When young people have comprehensive information, supportive adults, and access to services, they make safer choices. The evidence shows this clearly.

This isn’t about being permissive or abandoning values. It’s about being realistic and protective. It’s about loving our children enough to prepare them for the world they actually live in, not the world we wish existed.

Change happens when individuals step forward. Whether you’re a parent, educator, community leader, or concerned citizen, you have a role in ensuring Nigerian adolescents receive the information they need.

Parents: Your voice matters most to your children. Start conversations early and keep them ongoing. Create an environment where your children know they can ask you anything. If you’re unsure how to have these conversations, seek resources. Attend parent education sessions if they’re available. Remember that providing information isn’t the same as giving permission, it’s giving protection.

Educators: You see students daily. You notice changes in behavior and performance. Advocate for comprehensive sexuality education in your school. If your school already has a program, deliver it faithfully and with care. Create a classroom environment where students feel safe asking questions. Connect struggling students with resources they need.

Community Leaders: Your endorsement can make or break programs in your community. Take time to understand what comprehensive sexuality education actually is, not what rumor says it is. Consider the health outcomes in your community. Recognize that supporting youth health education is consistent with cultural values of protecting children.

Young People: You have the right to information about your own bodies and health. If your school doesn’t provide adequate sexuality education, seek reliable sources. Organizations like Ridd Aid Foundation are working to create safe spaces for learning. Don’t rely on peers or social media for health information; seek out trained educators and healthcare providers.

In conclusion, After two decades of implementation, research, and refinement, the evidence is clear: comprehensive sexuality education works. It doesn’t encourage risky behavior. It doesn’t undermine cultural values. What it does is give young people the information, skills, and support they need to make healthy choices.

Nigeria’s young people are capable, intelligent, and deserving of our honesty. They’re growing up in a complex world where information, accurate and inaccurate is everywhere. We can either ensure they have reliable, comprehensive, age-appropriate information, or we can leave them to figure it out on their own, often through painful trial and error.

The choice isn’t between preserving culture and protecting health. It’s between two approaches to protection: one based on silence and hope, the other based on information and empowerment. The evidence tells us which approach actually works.

At The Ridd Aid Foundation, we’re choosing evidence. We’re choosing to trust young people with information. We’re choosing to work with families and communities to deliver sexuality education that’s comprehensive, culturally sensitive, and effective. We’re choosing to build a future where every young Nigerian has the knowledge to make informed choices about their health, their relationships, and their futures.

Because when we give young people the tools they need, they rise to meet the moment. And Nigeria’s future depends on them doing exactly that.

Join us in creating lasting change. Whether through partnership, advocacy, or simply starting more honest conversations in your own community, your involvement matters. Every young person deserves accurate information and the chance to make informed choices about their future.

Connect with The Ridd Aid Foundation: theriddaidfoundation.org

The Ridd Aid Foundation is a nonprofit organization committed to building a brighter future for children and adolescents in Nigeria through education access, sexual health awareness, and substance abuse prevention.