Source: Daily Trust
The National Human Rights Commission is to begin work with a group, White Ribbon Alliance, to tackle abusive care of women in hospitals.

A memorandum of understanding is expected when NHRC and WRA begin work and end in "appropriate legislation to safeguard women," according to the commission's executive secretary Bem Angwe, during talks with WRA executives in Abuja. Angwe said women seeking maternal care continue to face challenges, including exposure "to persons unqualified to practise as doctors."

"Much of the deaths happen as a result of poor handling" of women, he said.

WRA last year began a campaign for respectful maternal care. The resulting charter has sailed through approval by the National Council of Health in hopes of ensuring women are treated with respect and care in hospitals and by health workers.

It spoke of mounting evidence of breach of women's privacy, confidentiality and dignity as well as detention of women in health care facilities on account of medical bills.

"The implication is that a lot of women are no longer going to facilities," said WRA national coordinator Tonte Ibraye.
He said RMC backed by the human rights commission was "not a campaign to name and shame but to build the capacity" of health workers.

The group is concerned about increasing cases of mistreatment of women and wants maternal care to be treated as a human right.

"NHRC needs to come out with an affirmative statement stating that all people are entitled to right to dignity of which the RMC hinges," according to stakeholders in a document produced at a previous last December. Among demands in the document:
· Link between policies relating to maternal health and existing law in order to strengthen and ensure enforceability.
· NHRC's realisation that women's rights are more likely to be infringed at health care facilities.
· A mechanism for reporting violations of maternal care and ensure reported violations are addressed
· More talks to promote and deepen respectful maternal care
· NHRC and rights groups to make government aware of its responsibilities on human rights
· Point government attention to "systemic faults" in national health budgeting.

Rights group have documented evidence women are mistreated in hospital

• Nigeria