Ayomidamope Adebiyi, a nurse with passion for global health, health equity and healthcare access for African women and children, is the innovator of Care for the Unreached, a non governmental body with a mission to provide life-saving health educations through quarterly community health outreach programmes in rural communities with no good access to healthcare. In this interview with YEJIDE GBENGA-OGUNDARE, she speaks on maternal mortality and morbidity, women making a difference and the high rate of abuse among other issues.
Passion for maternal mortality and morbidity
Yes, I’m particular about maternal, newborn and child mortality I think basically because I’m a woman and also because the statistics don’t lie. The chance of a woman in Nigeria dying from childbirths, pregnancy or necessitated abortion is one in 22 whereas in the developed country, the chance is 1 in 4900. I mean that is a contrast and there are many factors that lead to these negative outcomes. One is the overall healthcare institutions and then the lack ofaccess to basic primary health care in many rural communities in Nigeria, where cases of high maternal and child mortality are mostly evident.
Secondly, there is also lack of life saving health education that provides information on the important of prenatal care, assisted delivery with trained midwives and community health workers who can identify possible birth complication and escalate it to state hospitals that might have the necessary skillset and facilities to protect the life of the mother and child. Also on the issue of neonatal and child mortality, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), one in five Nigerian children never makes it to age five. Some of these are from preventable deaths such as malnutrition, lack of access to life saving vaccinations, preterm delivery without access to thermo regulations. The UN 2030 SDG 3 goal is to reduce neonatal and under five mortality rates by one third and for Nigeria to achieve this goal, we definitely cannot leave it to the government alone to tackle.
Thoughts on women making a difference
I think it is supporting that women make a difference that is important, we have to create an enabling environment where there is access to good education. When the society invests in women, it actually translates positively into the growth of that country or nation but I don’t only want women to make a difference, I want women to be able to own themselves. I would also like to say we have actually been making a difference because every local community or economic space that you go to is occupied by women, we the women balance the whole navigate. So, women have been making a difference in the society but they have not been given opportunity to take full ownership of themselves. That, I think, is the next way to go.
Opinion on high rate of abuse especially of children and women
It is very sad to hear continuously the news of sexual harassment, physical violence, harmful traditional practices, emotional and psychological violence and even socio-economic violence against women and children. If reports are what to go with, it is estimated that about 25 percent of Nigerian youths, mostly women, age 25 and above, have experienced some forms of gender-related violence. This is actually alarming because we know that number is not the true picture as it is clear that the society often lays blame at the feet of the victims with thoughts that they made the aggressor angry or in the case of rape, the lady seduced the rapist. Commentaries like these make the victim to keep quiet and wallow in self deprivation without seeking redress or justice.
While these incidences sadden me, I am encouraged by the fact that there is more awareness via social media of reporting these heinous crimes. Also, the victims are becoming courageous to speak up which I hope, will make us as a society aware, as awareness brings knowledge. The government then must also address the root causes of violence against kids and women by implementing policy and enacting laws that will protect women and children and punish the aggressors. The government must also address socioeconomic situations of the people as there is also evidence of violence influenced by financial challenges.
Problem facing women in Nigeria
Some of the challenges facing women in Nigeria like I have mentioned before are the issue of physical and sexual violence, lack of equal pay for work same as their male counterparts which inadvertently leads to economic inequality. There are women who still need their husbands consent to even open bank accounts and some of them don’t even own a bank account of their own. There is also the exclusion of women in political participation. Lack and access to basic education is a big issue because not having an education definitely widens the economic gap between genders. So the move to ending discrimination against women is not only a human rights issue but it is actually critical to the sustainability of the country.
Passion for women health
When we as a society clearly see and understand the impact of women having a great access to get out as the backbone of the household and the society, it will be obvious that when we are not healthy, the society itself is sick. I am very passionate about maternal health because I’m a mother and also because of the experience my mom had when she was pregnant because women get so bogged down with responsibilities that we sometimes neglect our well-being to care for families that we love so much. That is why I’m passionate about women; pregnancy safety, having access to family planning and good healthcare for themselves and their loved ones.
