The primary health care in major parts of Nigeria are not disability friendly, most especially for women and children with disabilities, to increase the usage of basic health services by women and girls with disabilities of reproductive age and children under five in rural areas.
AWWDI and UNFPA team undertook baseline survey in the disabilities community primary health care, Karimajiji, a suburb in Abuja where a lot of Persons with Disabilities resides.
The efforts is to capture basic health services and facilities available for WGWD and coverage information through the collection of baseline information on key health indicators divided into three categories: maternal health, reproductive health, and child health.
The visit was in two categories which includes the visitation to Disability Emirate and Primary Health Centre (PHC) Karimajiji.
On the visit to the Emirate in Karimajiji, this was to have the disability community and stakeholders acceptance of the efforts, AWWDI/UNFPA team visited the Head of the community of PWDs in Karimajiji. The team were well received by the emirate and the cabinets. The intention of the visit was made known to the Emirate head and the councils, the team were accepted to the disability emirate and the emirate pledges their support for the success of the projects.
On the visit to the Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Karimajiji, the team was accompanied by the representative of the PWDs and women leader, the team were received by the head of the PHC karimajiji, Mrs Grace Clement. Who took her time to explain the operations and services available at the PHC, she pointed to the team the reasons why Women and Girls With Disabilities (WGWDs) are not coming to the PHC facility, she pointed at the inaccessibility of the facility, such as no ramp, no sign language interpreter, lack of toilet, injection room, lab, non availability of drugs and also lack of of specific disability needs like non available scale for and private room for women and girls with disabilities amongst others.
She also pointed out that the health workers needs training around SRH, GBV, and family planning as well as the need to re-orientate PWDs about the usage of the facility; the team were taking round to access the state of the facility of the PHC.
TQM reports that the group demanded that as a matter of urgency, the PHC facility in Karimajiji needs attention to address the above listed issues and many others that could help to make live easy for WGWDs in disability Emirate /Colony.
