By Okechukwu Onuegbu
The Anambra State chapter of Association of Women with Disabilities (ASSWD), Saturday, appealed to the government and health workers at all levels to pay special attention to women with disabilities with a view to addressing their health challenges.
The group, who made the call at their August 2023 meeting, observed that people with disabilities (PWDs) especially women often die in silence due to how they are been abused emotionally and otherwise at hospitals and society at large.
According to the State Chairman, Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD), Comrade Ugochukwu Okeke, most PWDs women found it difficult to access health facilities even in cities.
Okeke, who urged governor Chukwuma Soludo to employ the services of sign language interpreters across general hospitals and primary health centres to make it easier for PWDs to access them, also charged health practitioners to treat their members kindly.
"We have some women who find it difficult to attend antenatal and postnatal services because of absence of people to communicate effectively with them. Some have given up attending to hospitals and decided to be given births at homes. Some of our women have even birthed up to five children without accessing antenatal, postnatal or immunisation.
"We are not happy about it especially now our governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo has made it free to all. We thank our governor for such kind gesture. And we are appealing to our members to utilise this and other programmes of the government for healthy living and prosperity. However, we are also appealing to both the public and private owned health institutions to make them accessible to our members by train their staff and employing the services of sign language interpreters for easy communication with our hearing impaired members.
" We pray the health workers, including doctors and nurses to understand that we are humans like them and treat us kindly not with pity. Our women and men have feelings same way others have. We have rights to marriage and to bear children. We don't want anyone to be abusing or cursing our pregnant women when they come for medical checkup. It is wrong to be asking them who did this or who put you under this condition in wheelchair. Our women deserve respect, love and care," he added.
A guest lecturer and State Hygiene Education Officer and Coordinator food safety and Hygiene, Anambra State ministry of Health, Dr Amasiani Rose, enjoined women with disabilities to maintain healthy living through personal hygiene, regular hand-washing, sanitation, eating healthy food and refraining from open defecation.
Other speakers, including the Public Relations Officer of JONAPWD, Chidinma Ajemba and Mrs Okeke advocated for regular medical checkup for women with disabilities as it would enable them to detect and treat any infection and diseases like cervical cancer.
On her part, the State Woman Leader, Association of Women with Disabilities (ASSWD), Comrade Ncheta Nwanokwara, explained that the meeting was focused on disability Inclusive Dialogue on Family Planning and Cervical Cancer in order to promote inclusivity and improve the lives of women with disabilities.
According to Nwanokwara, the programme requires collective efforts and togetherness towards achieving the goals of the meeting and support our women with disabilities in Anambra State.
She further submitted that "It is also a conversation that involves all individuals, regardless of their physical, mental, or social limitations. The idea behind this program is to ensure that people with disabilities are not left behind or excluded from important discussions and decisions that affect their lives.
"All the topics to be discussed in this gathering were carefully selected because they are not only important but essential for women's health and well-being, but unfortunately, women with disabilities are often left out of discussions on these issues. This meeting aims among other things to change that by providing a safe and inclusive space for women with disabilities to learn about these topics and freely ask questions for their better understanding."
Earlier, the Chairman, Anambra State Disability Rights Commission (ASDRC), Barr. Chukwuka Ezewuzie, explained that governor Chukwuma Soludo administration meant well for PWDs and the entire populace.
He, therefore, encouraged disability community to be actively involved in the various government programmes and actions, including mobilising members, engaging with non-governmental and International organisations for opportunities to build their skills, careers, among other benefits.