People with disabilities (PWDs) in Nigeria have been advocated for by Sightsavers Nigeria to have better access to sexual health and family planning resources.
Sightsavers spokeswoman Joy Tarbo issued the plea in a statement in honour of September 26, which is recognized annually as World Contraception Day.
The organization Sightsavers said, “They also face significant barriers with regards to free and informed choice and experience a higher risk of forced and coerced sterilisation and contraception.”
Sightsavers’ programme operations director in Nigeria, Joy Shu’aibu, called for better healthcare services but also lamented the lack of access to sexual and reproductive health care for people with disabilities.
“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,” said Ms Shu’aibu.
According to her, “basic human rights” include the freedom to make one’s own decisions about one’s sexuality and one’s own reproduction. This is because “they are not only an integral part of the right to health but also necessary to enjoy the rights to life, information, and freedom from discrimination,” and because “sadly this is still not the case.”
Family planning coordinator at the Kaduna State Primary Health Care Board Nafisa Musa Isa stressed the importance of ensuring that people with disabilities are not discriminated against when it comes to medical care. She said, “If we neglect them, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be almost impossible.”
Ms Isa further added, “They have the right to access information and services needed to support their choices and optimise health, the right to decide the number and spacing of their children, the right to consent to marriage, and the right to equality in marriage.”
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