The report recommends government to adopt Gender-Responsive Policies by implementing and enforce policies to hep improve the situation
By Austin Angwe Makurdi
President, Lawyers Alert, Rommy Mom, has called on the Benue State Government, healthcare providers, civil society organizations and the international partners to prioritize gender-transformative approaches in healthcare delivery by addressing the systematic and cultural barriers to create a more equitable and resilient healthcare system that will ensure that no one is left behind.
Mom who made the call while speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, revealed that a recent report by Lawyers Alert and Media Health and Rights Initiative of Nigeria, MHR, conducted in collaboration with Gender Equality Fund, GEF, project has shed light on the alarming gender disparities in healthcare access for women in Benue State, particularly in the response to tuberculosis (TB), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and malaria, requiring urgent steps to be taken.
He said it has been discovered that Benue State has consistently recorded one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in Nigeria, with a significant TB burden and malaria remaining a leading cause of illness and death, especially among pregnant women and children under five and blamed the development on systematic inequalities, cultural norms, economy constraints and policy gaps that has continuously obstructed women’s rights to equitable healthcare despite efforts to tackle stigma and discrimination through community engagements.
The report according to Mom highlights several challenges faced by women in accessing healthcare services, including high disease burden which makes people of the state especially women struggle with a high prevalence of HIV at (4.9%) and TB, with 10% of Nigeria’s TB cases.
He said women in Benue equally face significant challenges in accessing healthcare due to patriarchal norms, economic dependency, and cultural beliefs, stating that spousal consent requirements, stigma, and gender-based violence further exacerbate these challenges.
The president Lawyers Alert also revealed that fear of social ostracism and blame for infecting spouses leads to delayed care, inadequate health care infrastructure, limited access to diagnostic tools hindering effective service delivery, particularly in rural areas, traditional beliefs attributing diseases to witchcraft and reliance on native treatments which delay access to modern healthcare services.
He revealed that to address these challenges, the report recommends government to adopt Gender-Responsive Policies by implementing and enforce policies to hep improve the situation, address the unique healthcare needs of women, including integrating reproductive health services with TB, HIV, and Malaria interventions.
The report according to Mom also recommended empowerment of Women-Led Organizations to Challenge harmful cultural norms and promote gender-sensitive healthcare, engaging Men as Allies, dismantling patriarchal barriers, promote gender equality within households, increased funding for healthcare to ensure consistent availability of medications and expand access to diagnostic tools.