NGO Reiterates Need For Inclusion On Women’s Health

A Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) advocating for women’s health, Center for Communication and Social Impact (CCSI) in collaboration with Pathfinder International, has reiterated the need to amplify diverse voices in other to address issues on women’s health.

This they said would ensure that current high maternal deaths are reduced through awareness creation on the promotion of healthy lifestyle among womenfolk.

The technical advisor, CCSI, Oluyemi Abodurin, while addressing the role of media and the possible barrier that could hinder a well approached report on women’s health, at the capacity building for journalist on effective report on women’s health in Lagos, said, women face a lot of challenges ranging from maternal mortality, breast cancer, endometriosis to fibroids, among others.

To address these issues, Abodurin advocated collaboration between media and government. “There are different angles to health story, it depends on the approach. Journalists must partner with the government to achieve the needed changes we are all advocating for. In addition, government must continually create and enforce policies to protect women’s rights and ensure their access to health care,” he noted.

On her part, senior program advisor, Pathfinder International, Dr. Sakina Bello said media advocacy is a useful tool in actualising women’s health project in Lagos and other part of the country.

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According to her, advocacy works wonders, “our media partners are here to really know what we are planning, and identify the role in reporting women’s related health issues. So for example, after this meeting, a lot of reports would be published so that what we are doing is shown to the world.”

Bello expressed the hope that, the media partners would help amplify the gaps in the sector, challenges experienced by health workers, ignorance, lack of awareness of government policies and problems, myths and misconception, state of primary healthcare centers (PHCs) and as well as the ‘JAPA’ syndrome otherwise known as the mass brain drain of health workers to seek greener pastures in advanced economic countries.

On the efforts of Lagos state government in promoting women’s health, the director and reproductive health coordinator, Lagos Ministry of Health, Dr Victoria Omoera said Maternal and Child Reduction Advisory Committee was established in 2008 to offer technical guidance on the various modalities using the national partnership for a sustainable reduction in maternal and newborn deaths in lagos state.

Speaking further on contribution to women’s health, she expressed that female healthcare providers comprises a significant backbone of the health work force adding that there is need to put women at the helms of health affairs in the state to advocate for women’s health as only women see the pain of fellow women.

“We know that we do not know all the answers. So, we always work with groups and partnerships within our technical working groups. We also do trainings, we do lots of trainings for health workers but unfortunately, the rate of health workers leaving the country for greener pastures is so high. Even with the replacement policy health works practiced in Lagos State are overstretched,” she stressed.

The workshop was aimed to make journalists understand the ethical considerations and best practices for reporting on sensitive women’s health topics including emale genital mutilation, sexual violence, among others.