Gender advocates call for quality care for women’s sexual, reproductive health

GENDER and women’s rights advocates have called for increased attention to women’s sexual and reproductive health (SRH) in order to improve their overall wellbeing.

In separate statements to mark International Women’s Day (IWD), the experts stressed that sexual and reproductive health remained a vital component of women’s total health and must be prioritised to ensure better access to quality care.

The Country Director of MSI Reproductive Choices, Demi Priscilla Letsa, speaking at a high-level panel discussion to commemorate the day, said challenges such as limited access to SRH services, disparities in service delivery and the uneven distribution of specialists across the country continued to affect the quality of care available to women.

According to her, the shortage of trained health professionals, including obstetricians, gynaecologists and midwives skilled in providing long-acting contraceptive services, remains a major challenge within the health system.

“There are not enough obstetricians, gynaecologists and even midwives who are appropriately trained to offer long-acting contraceptive methods. On an occasion like this, we want to highlight these issues so that as a country we can take deliberate steps to address them,” she stated.

Dr Letsa called for stronger collaboration among stakeholders to strengthen reproductive health services nationwide.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Merck Foundation, Rasha Kelej, reaffirmed her organisation’s commitment to empowering women and girls through various development programmes.

“At Merck Foundation, empowering women and girls is not confined to a single day; rather it is embedded in everything we do. It shapes our vision and guides our programmes,” she said.

Dr Kelej encouraged women to pursue their ambitions and contribute meaningfully to society.

This year’s IWD observed on the theme: ‘Rights. Justice. Action: For All Women and Girls,’ highlights the need to advance gender equality and protect the rights of women and girls worldwide

By Abigail Annoh

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