Halimat Olaniyan is the founder of AFAY Health Initiative, a youth-led initiative that is focused on advancing SDG 3. The previous projects she has led cut across different thematic areas, including mental health, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and disability and inclusion. Through these various projects, she has reached over 5055 vulnerable people, including women, children and adolescents.
She has partnered with various organisations and stakeholders on these projects, including Sustainable Impact and Development Initiative on the Persons with Disability and persons living with HIV, Sexual and reproductive health and rights projects reaching over 70 women and girls living with HIV and 30 women and girls with Disabilities with SRHR education including sexual violence prevention and their sexual and reproductive rights. She also partnered with Recycledge to reach over 2300 girls of St Louis Grammar School, Mokola, Ibadan, with Menstrual Health Education and Sanitary Pads in exchange for Plastic Bottles since October 2023, to commemorate the International Day of the Girl Child, establishing pad banks and addressing both health and environmental gaps,. She partnered with the Ministry of Environment on this project garnering the support and physical presence of the Commissioner for Environment. In addition, she has continuously provided over 2000 sanitary pads to girls in over 10 schools in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Through her leadership, Afay Health Initiative recently received the Christina Omosigho Foundation Grant to commemorate the International Day of the Girl Child in 2024, receiving over 1000 pieces of sanitary pads and 100,000 naira to reach over 1000 girls at St Louis Grammar School, Mokola, Ibadan with sanitary pads in establishing a pad bank and safe space for girls.
Through the Mental Health Projects she led, she has reached over 50 adolescents with a community-based mental health awareness project, improving mental health awareness and support among adolescents. She also reached over 1059 students of Anglican Commercial Secondary School, Total Garden, Ibadan and IMG Grammar School, Yemetu Ibadan, both in vulnerable communities with mental health education and awareness during the International Adolescent Health Week, improving access to information and support.
She has consistently hosted webinars aimed at public awareness, sensitisation and policy reforms. So far, she has hosted webinars on advocacy, sickle cell awareness and mental health, reaching over 120 participants in 2024 alone. Her initiatives follow a participatory and co-production approach, and she consistently includes communities and persons with lived experience in her projects to promote ownership, sustainability and community acceptance. In September 2024, Girls from the Adolescent Champions group she created conducted community sensitisation, reaching people within the Oke Itunu Community.
In addition to that, she organizes monthly book reading clubs in her residence for underserved children in her community to improve their literacy level.
