International Women’s Day 2016: Burning Health Issues of Nigerian Women

It’s a good thing celebrating women on a special day like this-which has triggered widespread jealousy among the men’s folk, clamouring for Men’s day too. But in all honesty, analysing the profile and portfolio of a woman, reveals that she deserves far more than a day for celebration.

The theme for International Women’s Day 2016 is “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality”. Although, in such clime as ours, gender equality and women empowerment, as enshrined in the 1995 Beijing Declaration is still a mirage, this Day should awake the attention of the government of the day to the realisation of such policies in the country.

Gender equality aside, there are pertinent and perturbing health issues, affecting majority of women in Nigeria, which needs to be brought to the fore on such occasion as this, for immediate resolution. Top among them are:

High rate of maternal mortality and infant morbidity:

This is mainly due to inadequate health care and inaccessibility to health facilities, which has made Nigeria, ranked the second largest contributor to the under–five and maternal mortality rate in the world, UNICEF statistics revealed.

Similarly, a woman’s chance of dying from pregnancy and childbirth in Nigeria is 1 in 13. Although many of these deaths are preventable, the coverage and quality of health care services in Nigeria continue to fail women and children. Presently, less than 20 per cent of health facilities offer emergency obstetric care and only 35 per cent of deliveries are attended by skilled birth attendants.

Breast and Cervical Cancer:

Studies have shown that there is steady growth in the prevalence of breast cancer over years, as it is known as the commonest cancer among female. Closely followed by it is cervical cancer which has claimed several lives, without affordable health care. Although the increase has been attributed to lack of awareness and late presentation for screening, but even when it is detested earlier, how many women can afford the cost of care, when Universal Health Coverage remains an utopian concept? I think our government needs to act fast on this issue.

Female infertility:

According to a study conducted at the Usman Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, female gender-related causes of infertility accounted for 42.9%, while male causes accounted for 19.7%, indicating a greater percentage on the side of women than men. And this accounts for the reason why most women are persecuted for infertility in the family, but how do they go about resolving this chronic challenge? The study shows a dominance of secondary infertility with probable genital tract infection being a major contributor. It is advised that early presentation and prompt treatments of genital tract infections may reduce the prevalence of infertility.

Forceful Marriages/Girl Child Abuse: is another cause for alarm in womenfolk today, as it is commonplace for a girl child to be married out against her wish, at the tender age of 13, 14.Although this is rampant in the northern part of the country, the case of the Chibok School Girls, who are still missing till date, is a good example of this, as it was reported that most of them were converted to premature mothers, living with myriads of STDs.

Thus, in the face of such ugly pictures of the condition of Nigerian women, how should the government of Nigeria commemorate this International Women’s Day 2016?