2024-01-31 19:25:10
The journey of Jumana, 12 years old, who suffers from a mobility disability, is a major challenge in her quest to access the necessary health care, as it requires efforts to reach the health center near her home in the capital, Amman, to exercise her right to reproductive and sexual care.
Jumana’s life is full of medical challenges, as a result of a spinal hernia since birth, which has affected her urinary and digestive system, as her condition requires periodic visits to the health center, but the obstacles stand in her way the moment he enters, which makes her visit to him burdensome on her spirit despite her strength.
These obstacles begin with the struggle with the long and rickety stairs that stand in her way, and the lack of a handrail for protection, which further complicates matters, forcing her mother to make an additional effort by carrying her daughter and going down the stairs, then returning to fetch her wheelchair to transport her inside the center’s corridors.
When she reaches the “registry” to open a file, Jumana faces additional challenges, as the windows are high and difficult to reach for people with disabilities who are seated, forcing her to rely on help and support. These obstacles extend to the lack of space in the waiting rooms, which increases the burden of visiting the center.
With these challenges, a gap appears in the provision of health services to individuals with disabilities, as they are supposed to enjoy the same sexual and reproductive health care rights as the rest of society. However, the problem lies in misperceptions and assumptions that individuals with disabilities are not sexually active, which leads to neglect. Their rights to health services in this area.
While Jumana is looking forward to obtaining the necessary care, we discover a large gap in the services provided, as maternity services are limited to married women, without providing appropriate health services for girls, despite the spread of more than 520 maternity and childhood departments affiliated with the Ministry of Health in various governorates of the Kingdom. And its regions.
Health care experts confirm that caring for sexual and reproductive health begins at puberty. It is not limited to married women only, but rather includes all stages of the lives of girls and women, as a misunderstanding of the problem appears when providing medical care, so more focus is placed on married women, pregnancy and childbirth.
Although the percentage of people with disabilities is 11.2% of the total Jordanian population aged five years and over, and they constitute 10.6% of females, according to figures from the Supreme Population Council, interest in ensuring their rights to sexual and reproductive health care services remains inadequate.
Patients are not welcome
Jumana’s mother also faced bitter challenges while trying to access health services for her daughter, as she dealt with many complications in obtaining treatment appointments, as she was forced to move between care centers within long procedures, which led to her feeling that her daughter was not welcome.
Jumana’s mother speaks of a painful reality, as service providers lack awareness of the needs of individuals with disabilities, which is reflected in the quality of treatment and receipt of health services.
“Get your head around, we have nothing to do with it.” One of the service providers at the center says to Jumana’s mother during one of her visits, when she faced the problem of a lack of medicine for her daughter, and after standing for hours waiting for her to get the medicine, she was forced to buy it from outside the health center at exorbitant amounts.
These obstacles and challenges prevent people with disabilities from enjoying their right to sexual and reproductive health, as defined by the World Health Organization, which is a state of complete physical, psychological and social integrity in all matters related to the reproductive system.
For her part, gynecologist Dr. Aseel Al-Jallad confirms that there are vital needs for all segments of society, regardless of social status or the presence of any movement disability. Medical support and guidance during the various stages of puberty, and awareness of various problems such as menstrual disorders and fluctuations in hormone levels, should be provided. These services are for all women without exception, including those with disabilities, with a focus on providing the additional care they need to facilitate their effective access to these services.
Health centers without preparation
Jumana’s suffering reveals the great challenges that many girls with disabilities face in the field of health care, as a study prepared recently by the “My Son Campaign” shows that among the sample, 56.3% of people with disabilities face difficulties in accessing sexual and reproductive health services, which was the most prominent The most frequent of these difficulties are environmental difficulties.
The study, titled “Assessing the reality of sexual and reproductive health services provided to girls with disabilities in comprehensive health centers,” indicates that 44.2% of families of people with disabilities face difficulty in accessing services.
Media spokesman for the “My Son Campaign,” Anas Damra, confirms that the difficulties in the environment and the difficulty of accessing health centers are among the main challenges, due to the lack of appropriate preparation for people with disabilities.
This is also confirmed by the official spokesman for the Supreme Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Raafat Al-Zitawi, pointing out the lack of appropriate facilities, and the failure to provide information in a way that can be understood by people with disabilities, and what makes the situation worse is the lack of respect for the principle of free and informed consent, where the opinion of people is ignored. Girls with disabilities do not need to be inquired before any medical procedure. They are only asked to ask their companions about any topic related to them.
The study reveals that the challenges start from the main entrance to the centres, as most of them lack a ramp at their gate, and 35.7% of them are not adapted for people with disabilities. Obstacles also appear in the lack of elevators in 73% of the centers to facilitate access to clinics on the upper floors.
Damra adds that people with hearing disabilities find themselves isolated and completely deprived of translation in health centers, and with regard to visual disabilities, there is only one center that has appropriate equipment, which is prominent floor signs installed in yellow to help people with visual disabilities and the visually impaired know… Their itineraries.
In addition to these obstacles, the study shows that 66.7% of centers do not have special health courses for people with disabilities, and 42% of these courses are closed, which reflects the severe lack of providing an appropriate environment and services available to individuals with disabilities in health centers.
The Ministry acknowledges the problem
When looking at health care in the Kingdom, it appears that the problems faced by health centers are not a simple issue. Statistics from the Ministry of Health indicate that there are about 70 comprehensive health centers and 378 primary health centers managed by the Ministry, and this indicates enormous challenges facing the old centers.
The head of the Ministry’s Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department, Dr. Marwan Al-Taher, acknowledges the difficulties experienced by the old centers, as they are not prepared for people with disabilities and are not within the building code, stressing that working to develop them requires effort and specialized budgets to improve health care.
As for the new health centers that were opened recently, according to Al-Taher, they are fully prepared to receive people with disabilities and provide appropriate health care without facing challenges, including the Sakhrat Kafr Health Center, the Kafr Yuba Lion Health Center, and the Princess Basma Center, which is a model in this field.
Developing centers…your place is a secret
Six years ago, the Supreme Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities launched a study on the reality of sexual and reproductive health services, indicating that people with disabilities face difficulties while receiving reproductive and sexual health services.
The study, which was prepared in 2017, revealed major challenges facing people with disabilities while receiving these services, the most prominent of which was the lack of preparation and infrastructure necessary for people with disabilities.
The challenges are not limited to that, says Al-Zitawi, “but extend to the lack of training for staff working in health centers on the human rights approach and “etiquette” in communicating with people with disabilities, in addition to the importance of the Ministry of Health monitoring the necessary financial allocations to be able to implement its obligations under the Human Rights Law. People with disabilities, including the establishment of comprehensive health centers.”
The “Accreditation Council” is an orientation session only
To raise the level of health care provided, Dr. Omaima Nassar, Director of the Standards Department at the Health Institutions Accreditation Council, stresses the importance of the accreditation program, which is based on organized standards and advanced procedures that enhance the quality of service and include patient care and client services, explaining that accreditation is a measure of service quality, and successful institutions achieve The degree of accreditation is an indication of the high level of service provided to citizens.
However, the role of the Accreditation Council remains limited to directing and encouraging the implementation of advanced preparation procedures and providing the best treatment services to all patients in these centers, without obligating it to do so, according to Nassar.
At the evaluation level, the Council indicates that the number of health centers that have obtained accreditation is increasing, reaching 109 centers at the end of 2023, compared to 104 centers in 2022 and 100 centers in 2021, out of 448 centers throughout the Kingdom, and this increase reflects the efforts Efforts to improve health services and raise the level of quality in various parts of the Kingdom.
Image source: My Son Campaign
#Challenges #accessing #sexual #reproductive #health #services #stand #girls #disabilities