By Zayamu Hassan
The Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria (APHPN) has called on the National Council of Health (NCH) to declare free medical care for survivors of Gender Based Violence (GBV).
APHPN made the call in a communiqué it issued at the end of its 37th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference which took place between June 15 -17, in Abuja.
The six-point communiqué was signed by the APHPN chairman, Prof. Benjamin S.C Uzochukwu.
The communiqué also called for assigning a focal point for GBV in each health facility in Nigeria to help survivors navigate through health facilities in a timely manner.
It also advocated the establishment of forensic laboratories in each geopolitical zone to support the prosecution of Gender Based Violence (GBV) in the country.
As part of the annual conference, APHPN, in collabaration with United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the EU-UN Spotlight Initaitive hosted a high-level plenary session and launched the Orange the World campaign for doctors as part of efforts in amplifying the call for global and local action to end the pandemic violence, made worse by COVID-19.
The high-level plenary session with the theme: Strengthening Nigeria’s Health System to Meet the Needs of Survivors of Gender Based Violence and Harmful Practices: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The group further called “on all states yet to adopt the Violence against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) act and Child Rights Act (CRA) to do so without further delay, to protect our women and girls; beyond the adoption of the laws, we need to strengthen law enforcement and awareness of the law around Gender-Based Violence. Everyone should understand that violence against women and girls is unacceptable and will no longer be tolerated.”
The APHPN also called on all states to put in place a sex –offenders register to name and shame perpetrators and end the impunity around Gender-based Violence
“We call on every state government to establish and fund at least one GBV response center, and shelter by in its state with government-paid staff deployed and with effective linkages to other support services that survivors may need
“We call for the establishment of at least one forensic lab in each geopolitical zone in the country to support the prosecution of GBV
“We call on the National Council on Health to declare free medical care for survivors of Gender-based Violence and assign a focal point for GBV in each health facility in Nigeria to help survivors navigate through health facilities in a timely manner,” the communiqué stated.
