How to improve access to sexual, reproductive health services

•Concept promotes social inclusiveness, reduces maternal mortality, unplanned pregnancies, and unsafe abortion among adolescent girls, woman

Sexual and reproductive health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being in all matters relating to the reproductive system. This implies that people can have a satisfying and safe sex life, the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when, and how often to do so.

The Federal Government of Nigeria in collaboration with several partners over the past years has made significant efforts to ensure that access to sexual and reproductive health services and rights is made available at all levels of health care to support vulnerable populations.

Several studies have shown that vulnerable populations have the same sexual and reproductive health needs, as others not deemed vulnerable.

Director, Family Health Department, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr. Salma Ibrahim Anas, in an opening address at the Knowledge Café/Webinar Series on ‘Expanding Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services and Rights to Vulnerable Populations’ held at Utako, Abuja and virtually on November 24, 2022, said the vulnerable populations need the same minimum package of reproductive health services available to everyone else; however, their special circumstances often create barriers to access.

Such barriers, according to Anas, include, but are not limited to: communication of information, ignorance of service providers, societal attitude, and inadequate capacity of service providers to manage clients with disabilities. These, she said, can combine to deny persons with disabilities basic reproductive health services.

Salma said the current humanitarian situation in Nigeria has aggravated the reproductive health risk, that persons with disabilities suffer. She said attention to this cluster of people is usually inadequate and is not planned for, hence difficult to harvest concrete results.

Salma said the Basic Health Care Provision Fund is the strategy of the government to ensure the inclusivity of all persons including vulnerable groups in the spirit of leaving no one behind the Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

She said other efforts of the government include the provision of family planning services, which has been expanded through the introduction of new approaches and an array of method mixes. The director said the renewed commitment to family planning among government and all levels as well as donor partners has stimulated wider coverage of services accompanied by greater emphasis on quality and human rights.

Salma said the renewed focus on adolescent and young persons’ sexual and reproductive health has spurred interest in better ways to reach adolescents with effective messages and services. She said articulation of policies to protect everyone include the of ‘Prohibition of Violence Again Persons’, which does not discriminate against anyone.