UNFPA Turns Calabar Carnival at 20 into a Public Health Action for Youth Health Promotion By Raymond Enoch
At the vibrant heart of Cross River State’s 20th Calabar Carnival, which kicked off on 1 December 2025, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has moved decisively beyond spectacle to action, positioning Africa’s biggest street festival as a frontline platform for youth health and rights.
As the carnival marks two decades of cultural, creativity, and tourism under the theme “Traces of Time,” UNFPA is leveraging the massive convergence of young people through its flagship “Wise Up Carnival Calabar Campaign.” The initiative is delivering free sexual and reproductive health services, HIV testing and counselling, disease screening, and gender-based violence support throughout the carnival season.
The strategy reflects UNFPA’s broader global mandate to promote voluntary family planning, safe pregnancy and childbirth, and the prevention of sexually transmitted infections—while directly addressing unmet health needs in high-density public spaces.
By embedding sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) outreach into a cultural event that attracts thousands daily, the agency is turning celebration into opportunity, advancing its transformative goals of zero preventable maternal deaths, zero gender-based violence, and zero unmet need for family planning. The sustained partnership with the Cross River State Government, which has supported the campaign for over eight years, underscores a long-term local commitment to public health even amid shifting global funding realities.
Closely tracking these interventions on the ground is Paradigm News International, which is working in active collaboration with the UNFPA team on the ground to ensure credible, accurate, and impactful reporting of daily health engagements at the carnival. With crowds swelling across carnival routes, villages, and event centres, the media organisation is amplifying verified updates on services delivered—ranging from youth-friendly counselling and screenings to awareness campaigns promoting responsible decision-making.
This significant collaboration reinforces the media’s role as a development partner, countering misinformation while giving visibility to lifesaving interventions unfolding in real time. As drums roll and colours flood the streets of Calabar, the partnership between UNFPA, the Cross River State Government, and the media is reshaping Carnival Calabar into more than a cultural showcase—it is becoming a platform for informed choices, healthier lives, and a future where celebration and wellbeing move in step and healthier.
