Naomi Chima
The Chief Executive Officer, Healthtracka, Ifeoluwa Dare-Johnson has raised concerns over the state of women’s health in Nigeria, saying they are suffering in silence and unable to access basic healthcare.
Speaking at the Banking on Women’s Health Conference, organised by Healthtracka, in Lagos, she lamented that although both men and women are prone to various health conditions, some affect women differently and more commonly.
She noted that women are burdened with exclusive health concerns, such as sexual and reproductive health, fibroids, endometriosis, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and menopause, among others, most of which are under-diagnosed and they suffer in silence.
Dare-Johnson said the disheartening aspect is that not much has been done to find medical solutions to tackle the medical conditions.
She said, “From the age of 10, young girls have to deal with menstrual-related challenges. When they progress to teenagers, they have to deal with their sexual health, which includes contraception, and in their 20s – early screening for cervical cancer, fibroids, endometriosis, PCOS etc.
“When they are in their 30s, they start thinking about maternal health, childbirth, breast cancer, and ovarian cancer and if not married, they will start thinking about freezing their eggs when they get to their 40s and 50s, they start preparing for menopause and also other chronic diseases.
“These stages can have a great impact on their mental health, as research has shown that women get more anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts than men, simply because they respond to stress differently.”
She further said, ” With proper research, scientists can find solutions to tackling these conditions, but sadly, women are underrepresented, about two per cent of all clinical trials. We have also more male ObGyn than female ObGyn, so when we say women’s health is underfunded, estimated and underrepresented, it is not something we just imagined, it is real.”
Dare-Johnson, while quoting a report by the World Economic Forum and McKinsey Health Institute, stated that every $1 invested in women’s health can lead to $3 in economic growth, adding that addressing women’s health gap could add an average of seven days of healthy living to every woman annually, thus, boosting the global economy by at least $1 trillion by 2040.
Speaking on Healthtracka’s contribution to women’s health in Nigeria, Dare-Johnson said, “A lot of Nigerian women are battling with these life-threatening conditions. Women are spending 25 per cent more times in poor health than men. It seems like there are no tailored solutions for the different health challenges that they go through in life.
“There is a need to change this narrative, hence the reason we launched the HPV self-sample kits for women, to enable them to carry out cervical cancer screening from home. We have also organized this conference because we believe that a good way to change the narrative is for a platform to be created, where women, doctors, policymakers and investors can come together, to brainstorm on the best solutions to tackling women’s health challenges. We know that for every $1 invested in women’s health, there is a $3 return on investment.”
Seeking government collaborations and more policies that will promote women’s health, she added, “Listen to the issues surrounding women’s health, to boost the Nigerian economy.”
Nollywood actress Ini Dima-Okojie, who also shared her fibroids journey at the conference, urged women to speak out about their health conditions.
According to her, after she found out about her fibroids in 2017, she freaked out but after a successful surgery, she decided to share her story via Instagram.
“I never regretted that I shared my story with the world, as it has impacted the lives of many women with fibroids,” she added.
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