May 2021

Monday Health Burst

CHALLENGES AND EFFECTS OF POOR MENSTRUAL HYGIENE MANAGEMENT

Menstruation is a naturally occurring physiological phenomenon in adolescent girls and pre-menopausal women. Menarche is an important biological milestone in a woman’s life as it marks the onset of the reproductive phase of her life. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) as ‘Women and adolescent girls using a clean menstrual management material to absorb or collect blood that can be changed in privacy as often as necessary for the duration of the menstruation -period, using soap and water for washing the body as required and having access to facilities to dispose of used menstrual management materials.

Menstrual hygiene management can be particularly challenging for girls and women in developing countries, where clean water and toilet facilities are often inadequate. A World Bank report estimates that at least 500 million women and girls globally lack adequate facilities for menstrual hygiene management (MHM). The challenge menstruating girls and women face is often less tangible than simply the availability of infrastructure and is rooted in social norms and beliefs. In many cultures, menstruating women are considered impure and are systematically excluded from participating in everyday activities, such as education, employment, and cultural and religious practices. A growing body of evidence shows that girls’ inability to manage their menstrual hygiene in schools, results in school absenteeism, which in turn, has severe economic costs on their lives and the country.

According to the Economic times’ health magazine, menstruating women need to pay particular attention to personal hygiene. During this time, a woman’s vulnerability towards potentially life-threatening ailments increases. Poor menstrual hygiene can lead to many issues, such as fungal or bacterial infections of the reproductive tract and the urinary tract. Irritation of the skin causing discomfort and possibly dermatitis, the introduction of bacteria into the urethra leading to possible urinary tract infections (UTIs), alteration in the pH balance of vaginal secretions, amongst others. Asides from its health effects, poor MHM impacts the economy through absenteeism which results in lost wages, with women working in the formal sector missing on average 2.5 days per month. A World bank study linking menstruation to increased absenteeism revealed that not only do women take more sick leave (likely due to menstruation), but a small but measurable portion of the gender wage gap can be attributed to increased absences from work.

Hygiene-related practices of women during menstruation are also of considerable importance because if left unmet can lead to serious psychological impacts. Lack of knowledge regarding menstruation and menstrual hygiene leads to poor attitude and practice. There are various issues such as poor awareness; unavailability of quality sanitary napkins, poor WASH facilities; poor disposal of sanitary napkins, poor sexual and reproductive health rights education which also needs simultaneous attention for the promotion of menstrual hygiene. In this vein, Centre for Family Health Initiative has put at the forefront of its SRHR and WASH activities by adding a gender perspective to its programs by providing girls with not just adequate information on issues around menstruation but also providing these girls with access to conveniently maintaining good hygiene during their menstrual periods, through the provision of reusable sanitary napkins and equipped WASH facilities.

Though according to World Bank, promoting menstrual hygiene management (MHM) is not only a sanitation matter; it is also an important step towards safeguarding the dignity, bodily integrity and overall life opportunities of women and girls that is why an increased global awareness needs to be encouraged to accelerate a social and behavioural change as it relates to Menstrual Hygiene Management.

Monday Health Burst Read More »

SPEAK WEDNESDAY

Uncategorized / cfhinitiative

TABOOS AROUND MENSTRUATION

According to Wikipedia, “Menstruation (also known as a period and many other colloquial terms) is the regular discharge of blood and mucosal tissue from the inner lining of the uterus through the vagina”. Menstruation is a phenomenon unique to girls. However, it has always been associated with shame, stigma and surrounded by taboos and myths that have an impact on girls’ and women’s emotional state, mental health, lifestyle, education and most importantly, health.
Such TABOOS include but not limited to:
1. Women are impure, dirty, or sinful while they’re menstruating. (Suneela and Tanu, 2015).
2. According to Friends of UNFPA (2021), Menstruating women are unclean and that they bring bad luck.
3. Menstruating women are not allowed to touch certain foods as it is believed that they will go bad. (Friends of UNFPA, 2021).
4. Menstruating women are not allowed to walk through agricultural fields in fear that the crops will wilt or die. (Kavya, 2019).
5. Menstruating women are advised not to wash their vaginal region during menses because it is believed to cause infertility. (Kavya, 2019).
6. According to United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), disposal of menstrual pads and other garbage can lead to sickness or cancer. In some communities, it is believed that the use of tampons and menstrual cups lead to loss of virginity.

However, there are strategies or approaches to improve the status of women and to tackle this problem as highlighted below:

1. Increased awareness among adolescent girls related to menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) management.
2. Increased community-based health education campaigns.
3. Empowerment of women through education and increasing their role in decision-making.
4. Convenience Facilities should have provisions of sanitary napkins and adequate facilities for sanitation and washing.
5. Affordable sanitary towels can be locally made and distributed to girls and women in rural communities.
CFHI in a bid to overcome the challenges surrounding menstruation and menstrual hygiene practices, partners with several local and international bodies in supporting students and households in hard-to-reach communities with water provision, water storage facilities, sanitation and toilets, sanitary pads – and also sensitizing these communities on Water, Sanitation and Health (WASH) and the importance of education for a girl child.

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

SPEAK WEDNESDAY Read More »

Speak Wednesday

Health, HIV/AIDS, Speak Wednesday, Women / cfhinitiative

WOMEN AND GIRLS, HIV/AIDS

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) which can be transmitted through contact with infected blood, semen or vaginal fluids.

According to AVERT (2020), since the start of the global HIV epidemic, women in many regions have been disproportionately affected by HIV. Today, women constitute more than half of all people living with HIV, and AIDS-related illnesses remain the leading cause of death for women aged between 15 and 49. Young women (aged 15-24), and adolescent girls (aged 10-19) in particular, account for a disproportionate number of new HIV infections. In 2017, 7,000 adolescent girls and young women became HIV-positive. This is a far higher rate than new infections among young men, with young women twice as likely to acquire HIV as their male peers.

Also AVERT (2020) states that in sub-Saharan Africa, despite making up just 10% of the population, one out of every five new HIV infections happens among adolescent girls and young women. In the worse-affected countries, 80% of new HIV infections among adolescents are among girls, who are up to eight times more likely to be living with HIV than adolescent boys. It is estimated that around 50 adolescent girls die every day from AIDS-related illnesses. Nigeria has the second largest HIV epidemic in the world. Although HIV prevalence among adults is much less (1.3%) than other sub-Saharan African countries such as South Africa (19%) and Zambia (11.5%), the size of Nigeria’s population means 1.8 million people were living with HIV in 2019. According to United Nations AIDS (UNAIDS), Nigeria has the second largest HIV epidemic in the world and one of the highest rates of new infection in sub-Saharan Africa.

In the article “How does HIV/AIDS affect women” by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (2017), HIV disproportionately affects women and girls because of their unequal cultural, social and economic status in society. HIV is most often spread through sex. Women may be at greater risk of being infected with HIV during sexual contact than men are. This is because the fragile tissues of the female ex organ can tear slightly during sex and let the virus enter the body. (This is especially likely among girls under age 18.) Studies show that the female sex organ due its large surface is easily exposed to the virus, thus increasing risk of infection and most women around the world who have HIV were mostly infected through sex with a man.

Furthermore, unaccommodating attitudes towards sex outside of marriage and the restricted social autonomy of women and young girls can reduce their ability to access sexual health and HIV services. Other factors as opined by AVERT (2020) which have contributed to this disparity include; poverty, lack of access to education, gender-based violence, “sugar-daddy culture” and transactional sex, child marriage, etc. Intimate partner violence, inequitable laws and harmful traditional practices reinforce unequal power dynamics between men and women, with young women particularly disadvantaged. HIV is not only driven by gender inequality, but it also entrenches gender inequality, leaving women more vulnerable to its impact.

A call for new approaches to reducing HIV rates among women is highly encouraged at this stage. Firstly, more efforts should be geared towards a universal access to sexual and reproductive health for women and girls. Secondly, increased public awareness campaigns for gender equality that stigmatize violence and discrimination against women and girls and the use of female-controlled prevention methods should be encouraged.

However, CFHI through her HIV/AIDS based programs and its social media platforms has continually advocated and still continues to advocate for the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHRs) of women and girls whilst providing and catering to the special needs of women and girls with HIV/AIDS and Orphans and Vulnerable Children in the society.

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

Speak Wednesday Read More »

SPEAK WEDNESDAY

Health, Speak Wednesday / cfhinitiative

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FAMILY UNIT IN THE SOCIETY

A family is a basic unit of study in many medical and social science disciplines. Definitions of the family have varied from country to country, and also within the country all attempting to either include or exclude certain characteristics to better portray the universal concept. The UN however gives a simplified definition of the Family as “those members of the household who are related to a specified degree, through blood, adoption or marriage.” The family as an integrated and functional unit of society has for a considerable period of time captured the attention and imagination of researchers. Reflection of the interaction system between individual and family, family and society as well as the specific activities that meet certain needs of its members is what we refer to as the function of the family. The family as a social institution is organically connected with society, and therefore some functions directly related to the requirements of the society itself. (Elizabeth. S., 2018). A functional understanding of the family thus stresses how the family as a social institution helps make society possible. As such, the family performs several important functions.

Firstly, the family is the primary unit for socializing children. No society is possible without adequate socialization of its young. In most societies, the family is the major unit in which socialization happens. Parents, siblings, etc., all help socialize children from the time they are born. It is the character developed in the family that helps the child in becoming an important or responsible member of society. Psychologists opine that the absence of family affection has a serious impact on a child’s development and inadvertently the society’s development and way of life. Secondly, the household (economic) function of the family is also amongst the most important. It is aimed at satisfying its material needs (food, shelter, etc). The function contributes to the physical strengths and health preservation of all family group members. Thirdly, the family provides its members with a social identity. Children are born into their parents’ social class, race and ethnicity, religion, and so forth. Some children have advantages throughout life because of the social identity they acquire from their parents, while others face many obstacles because the social class or race/ethnicity into which they are born is at the bottom of the social hierarchy. (UMN, 2016).

Family life is very multifaceted. Each function of the family is social. The social nature of the family is determined primarily by the fact that the family is the unit of society first of all. As a result of family functions, the vital needs not only of family members but also of society as a whole are satisfied. The International Federation for Family Development (IFFD) states that No entity can fully replace the functions families perform for the benefit of their members and the good of society. “The family is the most powerful, the most humane and, by far, the most economical system known for building competence and character.”

The Centre for Family Health Initiative (CFHI) is committed to the promotion of health and protection of the well-being of families in Africa. We are driven by a vision of healthy families, healthy societies. Over the years, through funded projects and individual donations we have deployed several community-driven and family centred health interventions, encompassing socio-economic empowerment of women and youths – assisting them to take care of their families. Some of these projects include providing women with non-interest loans and startup kits, provision of educational and medical support, food items, skill acquisition and startup kit to Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) children, maternal and child health trainings for pregnant and lactating mothers, amongst many others.

SPEAK WEDNESDAY Read More »

Monday Health Burst

Uncategorized / cfhinitiative

Cervical Cancer

Cervical cancer is a type of cancer that occurs in the cells of the cervix — the lower part of the uterus that connects to the vagina. Cervical cancer affects the entrance to the womb. The cervix is the narrow part of the lower uterus, often referred to as the neck of the womb. (MNT, 2019). Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women in Nigeria. There were 31,955 new cervical cancer cases in West Africa in 2018, and Nigeria accounted for almost half (14,943). There were also 10,403 deaths (28 deaths every day) from cervical cancer in the country in the same year. (Balogun F., 2021).

According to Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER), Cervical cancer begins when healthy cells in the cervix develop changes (mutations) in their DNA. A cell’s DNA contains the instructions that tell a cell what to do. It isn’t clear what causes cervical cancer, but it’s certain that HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) plays a role. HPV is very common, and most people with the virus never develop cancer. The most common mode of transmission is through sex, but it can also be transmitted through the use of contaminated hospital equipment and from mother to child. The cancer is ranked second in the number of years lost to disability among women in Nigeria.

One can reduce their risk of developing cervical cancer by having screening tests and receiving a vaccine that protects against HPV infection. Screening tests include, Pap test and HPV DNA test. These are secondary preventive measures that detect early-stage cervical cell abnormality and the virus’s presence. However, only 8.7% of Nigerian women had a pap smear in 2018, and fewer had HPV screening. (Balogun. F. 2021). The HPV vaccine is an effective primary prevention measure for cervical cancer. The vaccine is most effective when started before sexual debut, which is the reason for the recommendation of its administration in early adolescence.

There are, however, two main obstacles on this path, one of which is its exorbitant cost and secondly, developing countries like Nigeria are yet to identify an organised structure through which most of the eligible adolescents can be reached with the HPV vaccine. Cervical cancer treatment options include surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or combinations of these. Deciding on the kind of treatment depends on several factors, such as the stage of the cancer, as well as age and overall state of health. (MNT, 2019).

To better fight and overcome the rampage caused by Cervical Cancer especially in Africa and Nigeria particularly, it is essential to carry all stakeholders along especially as regards the introduction of the HPV vaccine to ensure total annihilation of cervical cancer. A concerted effort is required to demonstrate the relationship between HPV and cervical cancer and the role of the vaccine in the prevention of cancer. However, this would require special health education skills and intense awareness or sensitisation.

Monday Health Burst Read More »

Speak Wednesday

Uncategorized / cfhinitiative

WOMEN IN LABOUR FORCE IN NIGERIA

One of the most striking phenomena of recent times has been the extent to which women have increased their share of the labour force; the increasing participation of women in paid work has been driving employment trends and the gender gaps in labour force participation rates have been shrinking. Especially in the 1980s and early 1990s, labour force growth was substantially higher for women than for men for every region of the world except Africa. (UNPD, 2003). This problem is particularly marked in Northern Africa and the Arab States, where unemployment rates for women exceed 16%. (ILO, 2017).

While vulnerable employment is widespread for both women and men, women tend to be overrepresented in certain types of vulnerable jobs: men are more likely to be working in own-account employment while women are more likely to be helping out in their households or in their relatives’ businesses. From an economic perspective, reducing gender gaps in labour force participation could substantially boost global Gross domestic product (GDP). The regions with the largest gender gaps would see huge growth benefits. Many developed countries would also see their average annual GDP growth increase, which is significant during times of near-zero economic growth. (ILO, 2017).

A report by PwC Nigeria on “Impact of Women on Nigeria’s Economy” in 2020, have it that Nigeria ranked 128th out of 153 countries and 27th out of 53 countries in Africa, on the World Bank’s Global Gender Gap Index 2020. This means, Nigeria has a lot to do to curtail this. 2019 statistics by the World Bank reveals that women accounts for 48.52 per cent of labor force participation in Nigeria. Despite this figure, only about 12% of directors on corporate boards of directors are women. It is discouraging to know that since the history of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), there has been no woman leader.

The relatively lower economic position of women vis-a-vis men can be attributed to some of the prevailing factors such as:

1) The historical discrimination against women in terms of output.

2) The high rate of urbanization which is unmatched by the rate of urban demand for labor in the modern sector of the economy.

3) Low level of female educational attainment and skills which restrict their entry into modern employment.

4) The case of entry into informal sector activities such as petty trading with little capital outlay, flexibility of working hours and the ability to accommodate domestic roles as well as the independence attached to such activities.

5) The widespread assumption that women’s roles in the household are supportive, hence their contributions and rewards in gainful employment are expected to be merely supplementary to those of the males who are supposed to be the bread winners. (Fadayomi, T., 1991)

The data is clear: women want to be in paid employment, but a persistent set of socio-economic barriers keep them out of the workforce. However, identifying and quantifying these barriers allows us to develop smarter policy responses for eliminating them.

Ultimately, closing gender gaps in the labour force is not just good for women and their households, but for the global economy as a whole.

Speak Wednesday Read More »

Monday Health Burst

Uncategorized / cfhinitiative

Ovarian Cancer

Medical News Today defines ovarian cancer as “any cancerous growth that begins in the ovary”. According to World Cancer Research Fund, Ovarian cancer is the 18th most common cancer worldwide, however, it is currently the 7th most common malignancy globally and the most lethal gynecological cancer (Siegel RL et al) while in Nigeria it is the second commonest gynecological malignance (Adekunle O. Oguntayo et al.).

Ovarian cancer often goes undetected until it has spread within the pelvis and stomach region. It has warning signs, but the earliest symptoms are vague and easy to dismiss. The symptoms of Ovarian cancer are easily dismissible because they are like the symptoms of other common illnesses. The symptoms include: abdominal bloating, pressure, and pain; abnormal fullness after eating; difficulty eating; an increase in urination; an increased urge to urinate; fatigue; indigestion; heartburn; menstrual irregularities; painful intercourse among others. Although some of these symptoms if not caused by Ovarian cancer goes away when treated, however, if caused by Ovarian cancer, the symptoms persists, and the discomfort increases as the tumor spreads.

Cancer Treatment Centers of America says, that although there is no exact cause of Ovarian Cancer, research however, identifies some number of factors that could put one at risk which include: a family history of ovarian cancer; a personal history of breast, uterine, or colon cancer; obesity; the use of certain fertility drugs or hormone therapies; no history of pregnancy or endometriosis.

Unfortunately, there is no routine diagnostic screening available for ovarian cancer and as such unusual or persistent symptoms is advised to be reported to one’s doctor. There are four (4) stages of Ovarian cancer with Stage 1 been the earliest stage of which when detected can be treated, while stage 4 is the advanced stage of this malignance.

Well, treatment depends on how far the cancer has spread, however, it usually includes two or more of the following treatment plan namely: chemotherapy, surgery to stage the cancer and remove the tumor, targeted therapy or hormone therapy.

There are no proven ways through which this malignance can be prevented, however, research outlines factors that have been shown to reduce the risk of developing it, namely: the use of oral birth control pills, breastfeeding, pregnancy or surgical procedures on one’s reproductive organs.

Monday Health Burst Read More »