There is no doubt that physically challenged women are differentiated from others in terms of lack of equal access to health care and reduced opportunities in employment. Therefore, they experience social exclusion and unfair treatments while accessing healthcare services.
   
However, stakeholders and health experts have stressed that the society should avoid stigma and discrimination against physically challenged women to enable them to have access to quality healthcare irrespective of their financial status.
 
They also harped on the importance of introducing subsidised or free healthcare services for physically challenged women to alleviate their financial burden of accessing quality healthcare.
 
The stakeholders also noted that health insurance could be provided to reduce out-of-pocket expenses for persons with disability in general.The National President of Nigeria National Persons with Disabilities Multipurpose Cooperative Society, Taiye Titus Oloye, said for deaf pregnant women, lack of sign language interpreters in the nation’s hospitals has caused a lot of havoc such as misdiagnosis, wrong treatment, wrong medicine prescription and over-exaggeration.
 
He explained that deaf women are left unattended for long while some leave the hospital without being treated just because doctors and nurses cannot understand their language.
 
“Untimely deaths of some of these deaf people have been recorded because of late diagnosis and treatment,” Oloye said. He said those on wheelchairs suffer neglect and discrimination, adding that some physically challenged pregnant women have had to deliver their babies unexpectedly because no help was near.
 
 Oloye noted that some family members of this set of people are afraid their children who have disabilities may reproduce disabled children and thereby add more burdens to their responsibilities. He alleged that some of them go to the extent of approaching doctors to implant family planning devices in their children to block them from having children, which has ruined many lives.
 
“Most worrisome is that they never sought the permission of their children before implanting the family planning devices,” he noted.  Oloye stated that physically challenged persons need government’s assistance to live a normal life and have their children without being a burden to their families. 
 
To an Abuja based medical doctor, Dr. Enyinna Omoke, health care access in Nigeria is generally poor.
 
“There are less health facilities and healthcare personnel when compared to the large population. There are long queues to see a doctor. There are instances where people wait from morning to night before they can see a doctor or access health care.
 
“This has led to Nigerians avoiding the hospital; they would rather patronise quacks, chemists and other patent medicine dealers and the negative effects of these practices are glaring like drug resistance, adverse drug reactions, damage to body organs, excessive fake drugs, among others,” he said.
   
Omoke explained that the cost of health care is high, noting that most Nigerians are not under insurance. According to him, an average Nigerian is hungry and would rather use their money to buy food than go for treatment.
 
“It is worse for physically challenged people,” he said.  He noted that physically challenged women cannot cope with the stress of waiting too long to see a doctor.
 
“A lot of them feel dejected and depressed because of their conditions and will not even want to come out. It is even worse for women whose culture has made the primary person responsible for taking care of children,” he added.  He stated that a physically challenged woman is already at a disadvantage, stressing that it is not meant to be so.
 
“The government has to give preference and incentives to the physically challenged. There should be insurance and if possible home services should be made available to them. There should be a strong support group for them where they are taken care of. They should also be encouraged that they can achieve every possible feat in life irrespective of their physical challenges, among others,” he stressed.
 
Omoke noted that his hospital does a lot of sensitisation on the various forms of physical challenge and the need for the people in that category to seek proper and quality health care. He explained that this happens in the form of radio programmes, television (TV) programmes and Instagram live programmes.
 
“If any physically challenged woman presents to the hospital, they are given preference to reduce their waiting also. Also there is the presence of an elevator and smooth staircase to enable them to move to any floor of the hospital freely,” he added.
 
Dr. Odinaka Kingsly of Block Malaria Initiative said despite the passage of the Prohibition Against Persons with Disability Rights Act in 2018, a lot of gaps still exist when it comes to accessing quality healthcare, especially for women with disability.
 
He said that addressing these issues will require a multifaceted approach.   He said: “There is a need for infrastructure improvement – ensuring that healthcare facilities at all levels are physically accessible, with ramps, elevators, and wide doorways for wheelchair access. Accessibility in terms of communication is also very critical. Signages, forms and registration processes within all hospital settings should be accessible to persons with various forms of disability in order to ensure inclusion and easy access to quality healthcare.”
 
Kingsly said training of health workers on inclusive healthcare is also highly necessary.
 
“This would help to bridge the gap of access. We must train health workers on the specific needs of persons with disabilities, especially physically challenged women, including how to communicate effectively and provide respectful, patient-centred care. Doing this will help to ensure that women irrespective of their ability status, gain access to quality healthcare service devoid of any form of stigma or discrimination at all levels,” he added.
 
Kingsly noted that community awareness campaigns on disability inclusion are also important, saying this would educate both the public and healthcare workers on the rights and needs of physically challenged women, reduce stigma and promote inclusivity.