Price: 4000 Naira
ABSTRACT
Every individual is entitled to the full protection of their rights because they are human
beings. Men and women also experience health challenges but because women go
through some biological and social processes that carry health risks like pregnancy and
child birth they require adequate health care to be able to fulfil these roles. The research
aimed to examine women’s right to health as a neglected issue that leads to maternal and
infant mortality; to examine women’s right to health as a fundamental human right whose
importance is such that no derogation should be encouraged and also to explain how
socio-cultural practises contribute to abuse of women’s right to health. The main
objective of the research is to show that the Nigerian legal system has not been able to
capture the extent of women’s right to health under several international Conventions
that Nigeria is a party to. In line with these aims and objectives, questionnaire and
interview survey was administered on health professionals and women, hospitals were
also visited in order to determine how lack of healthcare facilities and personnel affect
the status of women’s health in Nigeria. The methodology used in the research is both
empirical and doctrinal. The research observed that there is a plethora of international
and national laws and instruments that aim at protecting women’s right to health but lack
of political will on the part of government and cultural beliefs hinder the enforcement of
some of these laws. An analysis was made of the international and domestic legal
framework for the protection of women’s right to health in Nigeria, the challenges
militating against the protection of these rights were discussed and recommendations
were proffered that Nigeria should be willing to perform its obligations under the
international convention to which she is a party including the Protocol to the African
Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Africa also known as the Maputo Protocol,
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW),
International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR),
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) et cetera. Judicial Activism should be
encouraged in Nigeria. The right to health should be treated as an extension of the right
to life as has been done in India. This is because the provisions of Chapter 11 of the
Indian Constitution are pari materia with Chapter 11 of the Nigerian Constitution on
Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy.
0 Comments