A young Nigerian university student has launched a free health awareness project aimed at raising active awareness, educating, de-stigmatising and promoting the health of young people in the country.

Lisa Demi, a final year Biomedical Science student, said she embarked on The Lisa Demi Project (T.L.D.P) because she has always been passionate about Nigeria and giving back locally and internationally.

“My vision for T.L.D.P started when I went on holiday to Nigeria in 2014 and saw how much work needed to be done. It became obvious to me that Nigeria lacks some basic healthcare supplies to meet the needs of the people. Clearly, addressing the problems facing the country’s healthcare system and economic situation is important in this movement,” Lisa Demi said in a statement made available to News Express in Lagos.

Continuing, she said: “My mission is to break the stigma surrounding STD &HIV testing in Nigeria by educating and raising awareness among Nigerian youths. My aim is to empower the youths (as well as women and men).

“Nigeria has the second largest HIV epidemic in the world. In 2014, 3.4 million people were living with HIV in the country, of which 380 000 were children below the age of 14. HIV prevalence among young women between the ages of 15 and 24 was 1.3% in 2014, almost twice as high as it was for their male counterpart.

“STDs have become a serious health problem for adolescents, occurring among the majority number of sexually active teenagers in Nigeria.”

More details about The Lisa Demi Project are available at www.thelisademiproject.com

•Photo shows Miss Lisa Demi.

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