TQM report,
Disability Rights Advocacy Center (DRAC ) continues to introduce innovations that bring SRHR closer to women and girls with disabilities.
The latest in these innovations is the animated prototype video meant to educate the public especially healthcare service providers on universal design specifications for accessible healthcare services. This was presented at a one-day meeting with health sector stakeholders, Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs), the media and other critical stakeholders.
This activity is part of DRAC’s Making it Work project supported by Voice Nigeria which aimed at creating awareness on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Women and Girls With Disabilities by bringing the National Policy on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Persons With Disabilities(PWDs) with emphasis on Women and Girls to the limelight by initiating actions that would be adopted and implemented by stakeholders across board in order to ensure increased access to healthcare services by women and girls with disabilities.
Participants were taken through the important specifications and considerations to note in applying universal design to make healthcare services accessible contained in a manual developed by DRAC, this was accompanied by an animated prototype video on the Concept of Universal Design to get the stakeholders to understand what is expected in an average healthcare facility to ensure accessibility to all regardless of disability.
Some of the participants from the health sector who reacted after the presentation of the prototype thanked DRAC for the initiative and expressed better understanding of what is expected of them and they promised to continue to engage their management to ensure that there would be an improvement from what is already on the ground.
OPDs present expressed gratitude to DRAC for their commitment to using strategic ways to advocate for disability inclusion and ensure that women and girls with disabilities have unfettered access to healthcare.
The ED DRAC, Dr. Irene in her closing remark appreciated all the stakeholders. She said that it has been a healthy working relationship with the rights bearers, duty bearers and other relevant actors who have embraced the project and their commitments towards ensuring better service delivery to women with disabilities is commendable and urged them never to relent and use all the information and tools at their disposal to
She thanked the media for their support so far but she acknowledged that more work has to be done towards the media because they are very critical towards achieving the implementation of the policy. She expressed worry that the media practitioners after trainings with DRAC on the right terminology, some of them will still go back to the unacceptable words claiming that it is what sells. She informed about DRAC’s plans to further train the media but they would be taken away from their localities for more concentration to enable DRAC galvanize the media properly.
DRAC appreciated The Young Innovators for the prototype they put together towards solving SRH service delivery challenges to women and girls with disabilities. She advised that SRH requires collective effort; all stakeholders should make it a duty to advocate for SRHR in any given opportunity. It should not be left for DRAC and OPDs.
TQM learnt that the close-out session of the project would be organized soon where DRAC would once again bring together stakeholders and other dignitaries to share the successes of the project.
VIEW THE PROTOTYPE HERE:
