Health sector stakeholders in Ebonyi State have called for improved and sustained access to integrated sexual and reproductive health services, emphasising the need to eliminate stigma, discrimination and other barriers preventing women and young people from accessing quality healthcare.
The stakeholders made the appeal on Friday during the closeout meeting of the Advancing Integrated Health Services Delivery for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights and Communicable Diseases (SRHR-CD) project held in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital.
The initiative was implemented by the Daughters of Virtue and Empowerment Initiative (DOVENET), in partnership with Jhpiego and the National AIDS and STIs Control Programme (NASCP).
Speaking at the meeting, DOVENET Executive Director, Mrs Ugo Nnachi, said sustaining the project’s achievements would be critical to improving healthcare delivery and ensuring that more people benefit from integrated sexual and reproductive health services.
She explained that the intervention was designed to help women, adolescent girls and young people access quality, respectful and youth-friendly healthcare without experiencing stigma, discrimination or unnecessary restrictions.
According to Nnachi, the project covered 15 communities across Afikpo North, Ebonyi and Ezza South Local Government Areas, with particular attention to improving access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services and care for communicable diseases.
She noted that the intervention had strengthened the integration of healthcare services in participating health facilities, improved community referral mechanisms and encouraged stronger participation of traditional rulers, religious leaders, civil society organisations and community-based groups in promoting reproductive health rights.
Nnachi said the project had recorded considerable progress through collaboration with the Ebonyi State Ministry of Health, Jhpiego, NASCP and other relevant stakeholders.
She explained that the initiative sought to make every interaction between healthcare providers and community members an opportunity to deliver comprehensive care while protecting the dignity and rights of patients.
However, she expressed concern about the sustainability of the progress recorded following the project’s conclusion.
The DOVENET director stressed that the skills acquired by healthcare workers and the confidence built between health facilities and local communities must not be lost after the intervention ends.
She called for continued commitment from government institutions, healthcare professionals, community leaders and development partners to ensure that access to integrated sexual and reproductive health services remains available.
The stakeholders maintained that sustaining such interventions would strengthen healthcare delivery in Ebonyi State, particularly for women, adolescents and young people who face barriers to accessing essential reproductive and communicable disease services.
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