Stakeholders in Sexual and Reproductive Health have called for anti-discriminatory laws to ensure young women and girls with HIV, disabilities and displaced girls have access to healthcare services.
They made the call in Abuja at a National Sexual and Reproductive Health Right Summit organized by a Non- governmental Organization, Vision Spring Initiative with the theme, “Securing the Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights of Marginalized Girls in Nigeria.”
They also noted that the attitude of some healthcare providers towards ensuring a conducive and non-judgmental environment for vulnerable women and girls hinders their access to information and quality healthcare.
Ms. Fisayo Owoyemi, a Community of Action Facilitator, We Lead Nigeria, stated that the country must formulate anti-discriminatory laws that protect, persons with disabilities as well as women and girls living with HIV.
“There should be laws and policies that protect these women from discrimination so that when they experience those violations based on their identity, they can seek redress and get justice served to them,” she said
Ms. Adenike Fabusuyi, a Health educator and woman with a disability, explained that people with disabilities face a lot of challenges in accessing healthcare services.
“When you walk into a hospital or a health care center and you request for a contraceptive and the first thing, they look at you from your head to your toe and they say, should someone like you even have sex, I mean, we are not seen as a social being just because you have your disability, then you have to be asexual,” she said.
Also, Mrs Ngozi Juba the Project Director of Vision Spring Initiative said government at the state level to establish structures that were accessible to Persons with disability.
“Structure in place does not mean just service, but also making where they can receive this service accessible and also ensure that the health care workers are trained to be human friendly, there should be a social aspect of having empathy to responding to persons with disabilities,” she said
The summit draws stakeholders from across the country including traditional leaders, representatives of human rights organizations, and security agencies among others.
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