A Behavioural Health Specialist, Dr. Ada Ikeako, has called on governments at all levels to give women leadership opportunities considering their number and impact on the economy.
She made the call at a media interaction organized by the International Society of Media in Public Health (ISMPH), in commemoration of International Women’s Day, in Abuja,
She, however, regretted the disparity in treating mental health between women and men, stressing that, “women deserve better deal.”
While noting that women have greater role to play in attaining peace in the society, the Behavioural Health Specialist charged stakeholders, to, as matter of urgency, address financial difficulty, unemployment and other risk factors that are limiting women’s health in Nigeria.
On his part, a Gynecologist, Dr. Moses Fashe, reiterated the relevance of investing on women’s healthcare who, according to him, are prone to diseases more than men.
He disclosed that Nigerian women are not getting all the attention they ought to be getting considering the health challenges they face.
Many Nigerian women, he reiterated, still patronize traditional birth attendants and that many don’t attend antenatal clinics.
He applauded ISMPH for celebrating women and drawing attention to their health challenges.
Responding to questions from journalists, the Executive Director of ISMPH, Mrs. Moji Makanjuola, said the month of March has been dedicated to focus on the challenges confronting women in Nigeria.
“For us at ISMPH since we are about health and promoting health, we decided to advance the promotion of women’s health.
“Often times women’s issues are not seen as so important but the month of March provides a platform where we can actually dissect women’s needs and challenges.
“Emphasis has been on reproductive health, yes that is good but that is not it all, we have peculiarity of health needs which supersede that of men and these days with non-communicable diseases taking its toll on us as a people, we know that more and more women are coming down.
“That woman that is raped has a health need, she might end up with STI, she might end up being pregnant and she’s traumatized and some of them end up in psychiatric homes, unfortunately, not many of these psychiatric homes are available.”
Earlier, in his opening remarks, the Senior Programs Manager of ISMPH, Solomon Dogo, vowed that his NGO would continue to build capacity of the media in Nigeria in the interest of the development of the country.
