Stakeholders involved in reduction of HIV and Hepatitis among women who inject drugs have advocated for specific programmes and rehabilitation services towards reducing the prevalence of such among the women.
The stakeholders made the advocacy on Monday in Abuja, at a close-out dissemination meeting on “Reducing the Incidence of HIV and Hepatitis among Women Who Inject Drugs (RIHHWID)” project.
The project was implemented by Society for Family Health (SFH) with funding from ViiV Healthcare Positive Action, aimed at addressing challenges in three pilot states: Abia, Gombe, and Oyo.
According to them, implementation of tailored harm reduction programmes would enable the provision of comprehensive services including clean needles, counseling, education, and healthcare.
Some of their recommendations included expansion of access to gender-sensitive rehabilitation services such as comprehensive care tailored to women’s needs, psychological support, vocational training, and social reintegration.
While presenting the research findings carried out in the three pilot states, RIHHWID Programme Coordinator, Peace Ikani, said that WIDs were estimated to make up 20 per cent of all drug users worldwide.
She, however, said that due to criminalisation, gender inequality, and social stigma, the number may be underestimated.
This, she said, was because WIDs faced a double stigma, being both drug users and women.
“This can lead to compounded adverse effects, as they might be judged for their substance use and for defying traditional gender roles,” she said.
Ikani said that their challenges included excessive punitive regulations often associated with police intimidation and mistreatment like acts of violence and sexual assault, alongside crackdowns by law enforcement on drug-related activities.
“Instances have been documented where women felt compelled to offer sexual favours to evade police scrutiny and as a result, WIDs are frequently discouraged from reporting acts of violence to law enforcement.
“This can deter them from engaging in harm reduction programmes due to the fear of exposure, harassment, or arrest,” she said.
Ikani disclosed that in the three states, 3,084 WIDs were provided with clean needles, syringes and injecting equipment, 3,878 were tested for Hepatitis C and 7,540 were directly reached by the project.
In her remarks, the Director of ViiV, Jenny Cozins, said that the project had brought the issue of WIDs to the forefront, prompting stakeholders to recognise their specific needs and take action to address them.
“We have also highlighted where cultural and social norms often stigmatise and marginalise WIDs.
“The project has reached communities that have provided them with confidential services and has empowered women to seek help and have access to essential care.
“Additionally, the project has also connected people to prevention services, which is really important in the fight against HIV,” she said.
Speaking on behalf of the Police Action Committee on AIDS (PACA), Chief Superintendent of Police, Solomon Tanko, urged the WID stakeholders to make available contacts that would liaise with the police to avoid WID raid.
Dr Mya Ngon, the Team Lead, Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases Cluster, World Health Organisation (WHO), commended the Federal Government for steps taken so far in adopting WHO recommendations to guide the achievement of 2030 goals.
“We have seen the government work tirelessly to ensure that the last component, the harm reduction bids, is also introduced into the country,’’ she said.
She urged the SFH to publish the findings so that Nigeria and the world could benefit from them and assist in setting up policies and guidelines that would help them benefit from the programmes.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the project was launched in 2022 with the aim of scaling up needle and syringe exchange services for WIDs among others.
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