Nigerian Center for Gender, Health and Human Rights

NCGHHR is the foremost center to focus on gender, health and human rights, and combines strong commitment to service and advocacy with Human rights education in Nigeria and the sub-Saharan region of Africa. NCGHHR is a non-profit, non-governmental organization.

GOALS:

To promote health, education, social justice, and human rights by funding and carrying out projects in cooperation with local non-profit, non-governmental partner organizations, and communities.
To promote access to health care and health related information.
To promote family planning and reproductive rights.
To work with its partner organizations to bear witness for gender rights, health and human rights and against violations.
To educate and inspire others, especially government officials, local groups, community leaders, students, and NGOs, by providing them information and opportunities for service in a health and human rights perspective. This objective is accomplished through workshops/seminars, presentations, publications, hand-on experiences, mentoring, and person-to-person discussion.
To directly sponsor grassroot non-profit, non-governmental projects deemed compatible with the principles of NCGHHR. These include emphasizing Community Oriented Primary Care, Human Rights Promotion, Volunteerism, Research Studies and Statistics Evaluation, and a Democratic approach to the project's administration.
To educate and train agencies and professionals who serve these communities.
To advocate for the promotion of health and human rights in the Nigeria and Africa.
To conduct legal research for the better understanding and the promotion of health, quality of life and human rights.
NCGHHR facilitates advocacy, creates awareness and social mobilization, provides technical support, initiates research and program support activities at the grassroots, sub-national, national and regional levels to resist gender-related violence and violations (female genital mutilation), cultural bias, and promotion of women rights.
To work with volunteers to provide medical services in villages and communities with no access to medical facilities.
To promote democracy, an independent judiciary, and rule of law.
To promote women's participation in democracy and governace.
Promotion and protection of the rights of the child.
To combat and prevent trafficking in children and women .
To combat child labor and exploitation.

PLANNED PROGRAMMES 2003 - 2005

NCGHHR Nurse Volunteers administering Cholera medication, a public health concern in most African countries. Cholera is a bacterial disease transmitted mainly through contamination of food and water. Person to person transmission is rare.
Severe cases of cholera start with the onset of frequent watery stools and vomiting may also occur. The disease will quickly dehydrate victims, it is therefore essential to ensure rapid replacement of lost body fluids and salts using an oral rehydration solution. If a severe case is left untreated, the patient becomes dehydrated with abnormally low blood pressure, suffering from muscle cramps, subnormal temperature, decreased urine output and shock eventually leading to coma.

NCGHHR promotes awareness of the complex issues at the intersection of health and human rights and advocates policies and programs for achieving well-being of all people.

This is the male medical ward at the Uyo General hospital in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Patients are admitted for such things as malaria, diabetes, tuberculosis, pneumonia, diarrhea, congestive heart failure, various cancers, HIV and HIV related illnesses. Most of the wards in the hospital have too many people and not enough beds. Some patients would lie on the floor. Unfortunately, there are not enough staff to take care of them all. Some patients are not seen by a doctor for days as there are just too many patients and not enough doctors. The average life expectancy in Nigeria at birth is only 54 years.

The Right To Health

Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) states,

Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food, clothing, housing, medical care and necessary social services.

The Universal Declaration became the basis for a number of human rights treaties binding in international law.

In 1966 the UN adopted the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which Nigeria ratified in 1994. Article 12(a) of ICESCR states,

The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest standard of physical and mental health.

Article 12 also outlines some of the steps the States Parties must take to ensure this right:

a) The provision for the reduction of the stillbirth-rate and of infant mortality and for the healthy development of the child;

b) The improvement of all aspects of environmental and industrial hygiene;

c) The prevention, treatment and control of epidemic, endemic, occupational and other diseases;

d) The creation of conditions which would assure to all medical service and medical attention in the event of sickness.

In August 2000 the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights reiterated what this provision of the Covenant requires of countries that have ratified it.

... health care facilities, goods and services have to be accessible to everyone without discrimination.

health facilities, goods and services must be accessible to all, especially the most vulnerable or marginalized sections of the population, in law and in fact, without discrimination ...

In ratifying ICESCR, Nigeria committed itself to progressively realizing these rights. Most importantly, Nigeria was committed to ensuring that these rights are guaranteed to all without discrimination, regardless of sex, race, language or geographical location.

Click here to view the Committees comments on article 12 in full.

The right to health is also included extensively in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CROC), which Nigeria ratified. Article 24 stipulates that every child has the right to facilities for the treatment of illness and rehabilitation of health. It also stipulates that Australia and the other States Parties, to ensure every child enjoys the highest attainable standard of health, must take appropriate measures:

a) To diminish infant and child mortality;

b) To ensure the provision of necessary medical assistance and health care to all children with emphasis on the development of primary health care;

c) To combat disease and malnutrition, including within the framework of primary health care, through inter alia, the application of readily available technology and through the provision of adequate nutritious foods and clean drinking-water, taking into consideration the dangers and risks of environmental pollution;

d) To ensure appropriate pre-natal and post-natal health care for mothers;

e) To ensure that all segments of society, in particular parents and children, are informed, have access to education and are supported in the use of basic knowledge of child health and nutrition, the advantages of breast-feeding, hygiene and environmental sanitation and the prevention of accidents;

f) To develop preventative health care, guidance for parents and family planning education and services.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) outlines measures that ensure health services to women. Article 12 of CEDAW states,

1. States parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the field of health care in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, access to health care services, including those related to family planning.

2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph I of this article, States Parties shall ensure to women appropriate services in connection with pregnancy, confinement and the post-natal period, granting free services where necessary, as well as adequate nutrition during pregnancy and lactation.

In 1999 the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women commented,

The Committee notes the full realization of womens right to health can be achieved only when States parties fulfil their obligation to respect, protect and promote womens fundamental human right to nutritional well-being throughout their lifespan by means of a food supply that is safe, nutritious and adapted to local conditions. To this end, States parties should take steps to facilitate physical and economic access to productive resources, especially for rural women, and to otherwise ensure that the special nutritional needs of all women within their jurisdiction are met.

Centre for Gender, Health and Human Rights * Point Block, Suites 63 - 65, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.