By Williams ABAH
As the world mark the World Contraceptive Day, an international non-governmental organisation, Sightsavers Nigeria, has called for the inclusion of people with disabilities in sexual health and family planning services.
World Contraception Day takes place on September 26th every year to highlight the importance of contraception and family planning.
The NGO in a statement on Tuesday, drew attention to some of the discrimination faced by women with disabilities in accessing family planning services and contraceptives.
Sightsavers Director of Programme Operations in Nigeria, Dr Joy Shu’aibu, pointed that, “West Africa has one of the lowest rates of contraception use in the world and some of the highest maternal death and morbidity rates.
“Evidence from Nigeria shows that women and adolescent girls with disabilities face multiple forms of discrimination in accessing family planning services and contraceptives.
“They also face significant barriers with regards to free and informed choice and experience a higher risk of forced and coerced sterilisation and contraception.”
Dr. Shu’aibu further noted, “At Sightsavers we are using World Contraception Day to highlight the need for sexual and reproductive health services to be inclusive and accessible for people with disabilities.
“Sexual and reproductive health and rights are basic human rights. They are not only an integral part of the right to health but are also necessary to enjoy the rights to life, information, and freedom from discrimination.
“Everyone should have access to safe, informed healthcare services without barriers, but sadly this is still not the case.
“The journey to universal health coverage cannot be complete without calling attention to inclusive health care services.”
Our correspondent gathered that in Nigeria, Sightsavers is leading an inclusive family planning project under the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office’s Inclusive Futures consortium.
The NGO is also focused on improving access to family planning for people with disabilities in Kaduna state, and other Hausa-speaking communities, by working directly with women-led representative disability organisations.
“In Kaduna, we have seen first-hand the positive impact that including people with disabilities in healthcare can have,” the Family Planning Coordinator Kaduna State Primary Health Care Board, Nafisa Musa Isa disclosed. “Their voices must be heard to make sure that no one is left behind.
“It is important that people with disabilities are not left behind in healthcare. If we neglect them, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals will be almost impossible.”
She added that people with disabilities have the right to access information and services needed to support their choices and optimise health, right to decide the number and spacing of their children, right to consent to marriage and equality in marriage, right to be free from sexual violence and right to enjoy scientific progress and consent to experimentation.