Adolescent sexual and reproductive health in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria--issues and challenges.

There has been an increasing awareness of the need to pay special focus on the adolescent and their sexual and reproductive health. This article reviews the sexual and reproductive health of adolescents in the Niger Delta region (NDR) of Nigeria. The objective is to bring to focus these important issues in the region. Adolescents in the NDR engage in unhealthy sexual behaviour characterized by early age at sexual initiation, unsafe sex and multiple sexual partners. The local socioeconomic condition exerts extra pressure on the adolescent with negative reproductive health consequences. There is urgent need to develop a time bound strategic framework and plan to redress this situation. This will require the participation of all stake holders.