Oluyemi Abodunrin, the Technical Director of Centre for Communication and Social Impact (CCSI), an NGO, has called for intensified reporting on women’s health.
Abodunrin made the call at a workshop organised by CCSI in collaboration with Pathfinder Medical and Public Health Sustainable And Advocacy Initiative (PHSAI) in Lagos.
She said the workshop was aimed at training journalists on effective reporting of women’s health issues in Lagos and Kano.
“Government should partner journalists to facilitate effective reporting on women’s health issues.
“The government should consider journalists as partners in progress, while journalists should see the government as a veritable source for news information”,
Abodunrin lamented the challenges journalists faced while trying to source adequate information from government personnel , to have a balanced and effective reporting on issues affecting women’s health.
The CCSI Technical Director urged journalists at the workshop to apply knowledge acquired to report more effectively on maternal issues, skilled birth attendant and others issues related to women’s health.
Speaking also, Dr Sakina Bello, the Senior Programme Advisor for Pathfinder Medical, described the advocacy workshop as a ‘bridging gap’ project that would last for 12 month
Bello, who presented an overview on the project titled ”Strengthening Multilevel Partnerships For Advancing Women’s Health In Nigeria”, said the project aim to tackle issues around antenatal, fertility and delivery issues.
She, however, urged the media to advocate more on women’s health by raising more awareness and do more investigative reporting to hold the government accountable.
“We want the media to amplify women’s voices by creating a platform for them to share their health issues, challenges and triumph.
“Amplify female healthcare experts’ voices, researchers and female healthcare advocate voices to ensure diverse perspectives and accurate information dissemination and women empowerment.
“We hope for healthier women in Lagos and Kano States and this short project will hold for one year.
“We’re working on something that will be long term, but after 12 months, we hope to see that advocacy platforms in Kano and Lagos are strengthen,” she said.
Dr Victoria Omoera, the Lagos State Ministry of Health Director and Reproductive Health Coordinator, said women ought to be prioritised in government policies, especially in the health sector, for contributing about 50 per cent of the entire population.
Omoera said that women need more empowerment , noting that their needs surpassed the gender role assigned to them.
She identified the major women health concerns to include inadequate healthcare resources, reproductive health issues, heart disease, cancer and mental health issues.
