As the world marks the 2023 International Women’s Day (IWD), Sightsavers has called for all health services to be inclusive and accessible for women and girls, including those with disabilities.
Development Diaries reports that millions of women across the world are unable to access the health care they need and participate fully in society.
Data from United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reveals that Nigeria’s 40 million women of childbearing age (between 15 and 49 years of age) suffer a disproportionally high level of health issues surrounding birth.
Research findings show that in Nigeria, women, young girls and children are the worst affected by poor health services, especially those living in rural areas where the burden of disease is disproportionately high.
The country accounts for nearly 20 percent of global maternal deaths, and it is among the five countries with the highest number of maternal deaths.
Country Director, Sightsavers Nigeria, Dr Sunday Isiyaku, said without action, women will continue to go blind in greater numbers than men and continue to have their contribution to education and employment curtailed.
According to the organisation, women are excluded from health care in many ways, and women with disabilities are three times more likely not to access the health care they need, compared to men without disabilities.
‘For example, women are up to four times as likely to develop advanced trachoma than men and are nearly twice as likely to be blinded by this excruciating disease’, Isiyaku said in a statement to Development Diaries.
For her part, the Director of Programme Operations at Sightsavers, Dr Joy Shu’aibu, noted that women with disabilities become economically disadvantaged due to barriers they face in health and economy.
‘It is a fact globally that women in comparison to men face barriers in terms of economy, in terms of health, in terms of access to education, and sources of livelihood’, she said.
IWD is observed every 08 March to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women and also renew the call to action for accelerating gender parity.
Photo source: Ngozi Osadebe
