News Editor
From Dooshima Terkura, Makurdi
Two Non Governmental Organizations, Lawyers Alert and Media Health and Rights Initiative of Nigeria (MHR Media Partner) have launched the Gender Equality Fund (GEF), project to empower communities to address the significant health challenges facing women, girls, and gender-diverse communities in Benue State.
The GEF project has a themed titled “Law, Rights and Community Empowerment for Social Change in TB, HIV and Malaria Response.”
Speaking to stakeholders and partners at the GEF Start-up Meeting in Makurdi, President of Lawyers Alert, Barr. Rommy Mom said the project seeks to reduce or eliminate the gender-related barriers that prevent so many, especially women, from accessing quality health-care, particularly for TB, HIV, and Malaria.
Represented by Barr. Victor Eboh, Mom said the diseases are not just health care challenges, but are embedded in social and
structural issues that dis-proportionately affect the most vulnerable in the society especially women and adolescent girls.
While noting that the project would empower women leaders, community-based organizations on gender transformative and affirmative approaches to healthcare, he added that it is also expected that by the end of the initiative, more women and girls can confidently make decisions about their own health and well-being.
“We are hoping that a movement that can advocate for policies and practices that truly reflect the needs of women, girls, and marginalized communities affected by TB, HIV, and Malaria will be engineered during this project to bring about long-lasting policies that continue to promote gender-transformative and gender-affirmative approaches long after this project has ended.”
The Media, Health and Rights Initiative of Nigeria (MHR), representative, Gloria Asoloko, her organization believes that addressing gender-related barriers in health interventions is not only a matter of equity but also a strategic approach to achieving the greatest impact.
While noting that gender inequality can severely limit access to health services, diminish the effectiveness of interventions, and undermine the well-being of entire communities, she appreciated Lawyers Alert for advancing human rights, promoting gender equality and empowering vulnerable populations and ensuring that justice and equality are not just ideals, but realities.
The meeting was held intimate all actors on the current status and challenges of the diseases within the state, raised awareness on the project objectives as well as their roles, to build a movement to advocate for policies that engender equal access to healthcare for women and girls and to empowering women organization with skills to facilitate policy and social changes for health deliverables.
Giving an overview of the GEF project, Grace Tyowua from Lawyers Alert, said the project will be implemented for two years and six months in Benue and Akwa Ibom states due to their high prevalent status in HIV.
Earlier, Barr Victo Eboh of Lawyers Alert took participants through “Human Rights Approaches to ATM; AIDS/HIV, TB and Malaria, Interventions” while Government representative from TB, Malaria programmes and Ben-SACA gave their goodwill messages pledging government support to enable the project achieve desired goals
CSO working on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in Benue and the Deputy Director at National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) Dr. Chukwugozie Ujam, in his keynoted address, all identified some gender related barriers affecting women and girls from accessing healthcare services including lack of financial empowerment, stigma and discrimination, self denial, lack of spousal support, permission and sponsorship, lack of awareness among others.
They called on the state government to devote adequate funding to ATM projects and interventions in the state to increase access to equitable health care services and to maintain proper coordination and government ownership of interventions to ensure sustainability.
They also advocated that Government address issues of shortage of drugs and commodities for TB patients and ensure adequate sensitization, personnel and facilities especially at the grassroots level.
Over 22 stakeholder organizations including NGOs, CSOs, and Media were represented at the 2-day start-up meeting to drive change in the fight against TB, HIV, and Malaria, which ended on Thursday, October 17, 2024.
