Q & A: What Nigerian Feminists Hope will Come Out of the #EndSARS Movement & Pandemic

Youth in Nigeria protested against the brutalities and extrajudicial killings by the rogue police unit known as SARS. The #EndSARS protests became a global movement as international corporations and celebrities offered their support.Photo by Ayoola Salako on UnsplashBy Samira SadequeJan 28 2021 (IPS) As Nigeria’s biggest city, Lagos, reportedly experienced a massive shortage of oxygen cylinders last week — with demand increasing fivefold in one of the city’s main hospitals just as the country recorded some of its highest number of coronavirus cases — its youth leaders are concerned about the impact on vulnerable women. “It is a dire situation across the country, not only in Lagos state,” Kelechukwu (Lucky)Nwachukwu, a Nigerian feminist and activist, told IPS. “Many health facilities are largely underfunded with minimal to zero equipment. What is concerning is what this means for vulnerable women and girls who need regular health services and attention.” “Our health sector is struggling per usual,” says Obianuju Maria Onwuasor, founder of PeriodRichOrg, an organisation working at the intersection of human rights and reproductive justice, commenting on the country’s low health budget. “The health sector alone ruins all the work of other thriving agencies without trying too hard.” Both Nwachukwu and Onwuasor are youth ambassadors in Nigeria for Women Deliver, a gender advocacy organisation. Through their work, the ambassadors examine the intersection o...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Active Citizens Africa Civil Society Development & Aid Editors' Choice Featured Gender Headlines Health Human Rights IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse Poverty & SDGs Regional Categories TerraViva United Nations Women's Health #En Source Type: news