Stakeholders Review Scorecard For Women’s Health In Nigeria

As part of efforts to deepen awareness and advance the health rights of women in Nigeria, women Advocates, Decision makers, health and gender experts have converged in Abuja to review the scorecard for women’s health.

In Nigeria, women and girls face discrimination and barriers that limit their opportunities to develop to their full potential both in the socio-economic and political settings.
This according to experts, is a result of rigid gender stereotypes reinforced by religious and traditional practices, as well as societal structures.
The campaign is meant to inspire public awareness, sensitization to gender-related issues, and policies supportive of gender equality.

With the Federal government in the lead, the campaign is expected to translate directly into policy action. Despite existing laws and policies, Nigerian women, especially girls and young women, face injustices and human rights violations daily.

The FCT mandate secretary, Women Affairs, Mrs. Adedayo Benjamins-Laniyi said the scorecard was necessary for the agenda of women’s health in the country.

The Country Director, Pathfinder International, Dr Amina Aminu-Dorayi noted that the meeting was to review the scorecard for women’s health

”And we say women’s health, it’s really broad, so what we are doing, is to say, look there are so many organizations, so many individuals doing a lot, but how do we come together to actually access, what we are doing, to actually access progress against certain indicators, that we all agree represents a woman’s health, ecosystem, women’s health includes family planning, antenatal care. skilled birth delivery,”

Dr. Dorayi noted that the scorecard will be used to support advocacy for the empowerment of women in Nigeria towards establishing an accountability framework and assessing the effectiveness of gender mainstreaming.

Also addressing the meeting, a Nigerian Actress, who is also a women’s advocate, Monalisa Chida expressed the hope that the scorecard would be put into use to improve the lives of women and girls in the country.

In a message, the Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye promised to utilize the outcome of the meeting in line with the present administration’s agenda

Pathfinder International with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation launched the Voices for Women’s Health Advocacy.