April 2021

Speak Wednesday

Rape Culture

The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines rape as any unlawful sexual activity and usually sexual intercourse carried out forcibly or under threat of injury against a person’s will or with a person who is beneath a certain age or incapable of valid consent because of mental illness, mental deficiency, intoxication, unconsciousness, or deception. Rape was long considered to be caused by unbridled sexual desire, but it is now understood as a pathological assertion of power over a victim. Culture on the other hand has been defined by The Centre for Advanced Research and Language Acquisition (CARLA) as shared patterns of behaviors and interactions, cognitive constructs and understanding that are learned by socialization.

Rape culture can thus be defined as an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in the media and popular culture (WGC, 2019). Behaviors associated with rape culture commonly include victim blaming, slut-shaming, sexual objectification, trivializing rape, denial of widespread rape, refusing to acknowledge the combination of these, etc. Rape culture pressures women to sacrifice their dignity, freedoms and opportunities in order to stay safe, because it puts the burden of safety on women’s shoulders, and blames them when they don’t succeed. According to the “Release of the findings of the Nigeria Violence Against Children Survey” by United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Nigeria, one in four girls and one in ten boys in Nigeria had experienced sexual violence before the age of 18 and over 31.4 percent of girls said that their first sexual encounter had been rape or forced sex of some kind as reported by Positive Action for Treatment Access.

This goes without saying that indeed there is a rape culture in Nigeria, a society where victims of rape are blamed and shamed and the perpetrators are not punished, a society that blames the woman for her partner’s infidelity, where we think it is okay for a husband to forcefully have sex with his wife because there is a believe that she has no right to consensual sex. Yes, the prevalence of rape culture in Nigeria is high and it is time we did away with this system that espouses the idea of women as possessions or objects and develop instead a society that sees the woman as a human with rights, consents and abilities.

The Women’s & Gender Centre outlines several ways in which Rape Culture can be combated. These include but are not limited to:

· Avoid using language that objectifies or degrades women.

· Speak out if you hear someone else making an offensive joke or trivializing rape

· If a friend says she has been raped, take her seriously and be supportive.

· Think critically about the media’s messages about women, men, relationships, and violence.

· Be respectful of others’ physical space even in casual situations.

The issue of rape culture cannot be fixed in one day. However, advocacy campaigns have brought attention to the problems fueling rape culture and have helped women to come together in opposition to it. Because rape culture also derives some of its power from unconscious biases and hidden assumptions, simply drawing attention to it is a step towards changing it.

Yet the Government on its own hand can do much more in this fight against violence on women and girls by amongst others creating stricter laws and punishments for perpetrators of gender based violence especially Rape, by enforcing the implementation of certain laws like the Violence against Persons (Prohibition) Act in all states of the nation and by providing fundings to support provision of services for victims of violence.

CFHI since inception has been at the forefront in the fight against violence against women and girls, through funded projects, street/online campaigns, annual activitism called up by recognised international bodies, etc. Recently CFHI being a member of the International Network to End Violence Against Women and Girls (INEVAWG) whose vision is to create a world where all women and girls live without violence and enjoy equality, autonomy, freedom, and justice hosted a National Consultation on violence against women and girls funded by INEVAWG. It had in attendance major key actors ranging from the legislative & judiciary arms of government, CSOs, female vanguard groups all over the country and beyond to share relevant and current information about VAWG, propose solutions and develop action plans to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls in the public and private spheres.

Speak Wednesday is an initiative of Centre for Family Health Initiative (CFHI) to address issues of gender based violence and gender bias. Join us every Wednesday on all our social media platforms for more episodes.

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Monday Health Burst

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Malaria- Zero Malaria Starts With Me

Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles Mosquitoes. It is preventable and curable. The World Health Organization. (WHO) estimates that there were as many as 229million cases of malaria worldwide in 2019, with deaths standing at an estimated 409,000. In the same year under study, nearly half the world’s population was at risk of malaria, with most recorded cases and deaths occurring in sub-Saharan Africa.

April 25 every year is an international recognized day set aside to commemorate World Malaria Day. The day aimed to bring global attention to the efforts being made to bring an end to malaria and encourage action to reduce suffering and death from the disease. This year’s theme is “Reaching the Zero Malaria Target”. Since 2000, the world has made historic progress against malaria, saving millions of lives. However, half the world still lives at risk from this preventable, treatable disease, which costs a child’s live every two minutes. In 2015, Centre for Disease Control (CDC), the Nigeria National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP), the Nigeria Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Program (NFELTP), and the National Stop Transmission of Polio (NSTOP) program initiated the NSTOP\Malaria Frontline project to improve the effectiveness of malaria control in Nigeria by strengthening the technical capacity of Nigeria’s public health system to reduce malaria, as well as improving the tools and policies used to prevent, detect, and respond to epidemics and other endemic high-impact diseases.

Over the past year, the Malaria Frontline Project provided training, on-site mentorship, and technical support to local government health officials across Kano and Zamfara State. This project allows the monitoring of the stocks of malaria prevention and treatment supplies and trends in local illness cases diagnosed and treated in each of the health facilities. This enables the use of data to spot early trends and target emergency supplies and outreach efforts at the time and place where they will do the best. This effort to collect and utilize malaria data locally is part of a needed reset for malaria programs in densely populated, high-burden places like rural Nigeria.

The major objective of most current National Malaria Control Programs and most malaria activities is to reduce the number of malaria-related cases and deaths. The African Union Catalytic Framework to End AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Eliminate Malaria in Africa by 2030 has set ambitious targets for eliminating malaria by 2030. However, there is only as much the government can do which is why tackling the menace is now approached from the individual level. Numerous studies have outlined measures to effectively prevent the spread of malaria, some of which include:

· Mosquito Control: This is a vital component of malaria control strategy, which involves limiting or eliminating the breeding of mosquitoes. Stagnant water which is one of the major breeding habitats for mosquitoes must be prevented. By preventing the water logging, destroying unwanted water collections and keeping the water containers closed, sources of egg laying can be denied and breeding of mosquitoes prevented.

· Use of Insecticides: Insecticides or larvicides can be used both on breeding grounds and in enclosed dwelling spaces to kill both the developing larvae and the adult mosquitoes to prevent growth and inevitable bites.

· Make sure the windows and doors of your room are covered with a screen/mesh. Make sure the mesh has no holes through which mosquitoes can enter.

· Keep room fully air conditioned or fans switched on. The circulating air seems to deter mosquitoes to an extent.

· Antimalarial drugs: Antimalarial medicines can also be used to prevent malaria. For travelers, malaria can be prevented through chemoprophylaxis, which suppresses the blood stage of malaria infections, thereby preventing the malaria disease.

The total elimination of malaria is a collective effort with the dividends quite substantial. However, this process starts with the individual efforts of everyone!

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Protecting Well-being: Vaccination

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends vaccinations throughout one’s life to protect them against many infectious diseases. When vaccines are skipped, one is left vulnerable to illnesses such as shingles, pneumococcal disease, flu, and human papilloma virus (HPV) and hepatitis B, both leading causes of cancer.

What exactly is vaccination? According to Wikipedia, Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop protection from disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. They work with your body’s natural defenses to build protection.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “Each year, vaccines prevent 2 to 3 million deaths every year. An additional 1.5 million deaths could be avoided, however, if global vaccination with a vaccine for the purpose of inducing immunity coverage improves.“

Getting vaccinated is important for at least two reasons: to protect oneself and those around you. Currently, vaccines are the best ways we have to prevent infectious disease, these diseases can result in severe complications and sometimes death. Vaccination has been one of our most successful tools for protecting the public’s health. If one vaccinates, they contribute to wiping out diseases that could spread now and into the future.

The United Nations Children Funds (UNICEF) states that, if all children were vaccinated with the existing vaccines, at least 25 million lives could be saved. Children who get vaccinated are protected from serious illness and complications of vaccine-preventable diseases which most often include: paralysis of limbs, hearing loss, convulsions, amputation of an arm or leg, brain damage, and death.

Thanks to the emergence of vaccines, diseases could have been imported and quickly spread through a population, leading to epidemics. According to WHO, between 2000 and 2017, vaccination reduced global deaths from measles, a contagious viral disease marked by fever, the eruption of red circular spots on the skin that can be deadly to young and weakened individuals by 80% worldwide (preventing an estimated 21.1 million deaths). Vaccines have led to large reductions in illness and death—for both the young and old alike.

Recently, the world was brought to its knees with a global pandemic, Corona Virus that killed over 3,035,109 (according to Worldometers.info) globally. To reduce this death toll rate, vaccines have been developed by scientists. These vaccines are critical in combating against COVID 19; it is really encouraging to see so many vaccines proving successful. On the 2^nd of March 2021, Nigeria received nearly 4 million doses of the COVID 19 vaccine. The arrival of the vaccine marked a historic step towards the goal to secure an equitable distribution of COVID 19 globally. It is therefore imperative for everyone to get vaccinated to stop the spread of the virus and bring it to its end.

Getting vaccinated costs less than getting treated for the diseases that the vaccines protect you from. However, much work still needs to be done as indicated by WHO “far too many people around the world – including nearly 20 million infants each year – have insufficient access to vaccines”.

Monday Health Burst is an initiative of Centre for Family Health Initiative (CFHI) to tackle issues of basic health concerns. Join us every Monday for more health-related articles on all our social media platforms

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Effects of Gender-Based Violence on Health

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According to the European Union, “Gender-based violence (GBV) is violence directed against a person because of that person’s gender or violence that affects persons of a particular gender disproportionately.” GBV is often perpetrated against women and girls and by far the most pervasive form of violence, yet the least acknowledged in society. It is regarded as a violation of human rights.

Gender-based violence is deeply rooted in discriminatory cultural beliefs and attitudes that perpetuate inequality. GBV can have devastating short- and long-term threatening consequences on victim’s physical, sexual and reproductive, and mental health as well as on their personal and social well-being. The health consequences of violence against women include injuries, unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV, pelvic pain, urinary tract infections, fistula, genital injuries, pregnancy complications, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the limited ability to complete daily tasks, suicidal thoughts and chronic conditions.

The health impacts of GBV sometimes extend to future generations. According to Bahgam & Mukhatari, “Study on child marriage in Afghanistan” in 2004, the health of mothers is a major determining factor in the health of their children, which indirectly affects the formation of human capital. Mothers are normally the ones responsible for the health, nutrition and education of their children. A mother who does not have access to good health, nutrition and education is more likely to pass bad habits and poor general well-being onto her children. The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) reports that stunted growth in underfed girls increases the risks of obstructed labour later in life. Malnourished mothers and their babies are vulnerable to premature death and chronic disability. Even anaemia, which sometimes leads to postpartum haemorrhage, afflicts 50-70 per cent of pregnant women in developing countries.

The prevention and management of GBV require collaboration and coordination among members of the community and agencies. Adequate funding, adequate resources, reliable accountability systems, comprehensive and integrated approach in GBV programs would go a long way in abating the prevalence of GBV and its consequences.

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