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A nurse in blue scrubs checks the blood pressure of a woman wearing a light yellow hijab and patterned dress, seated next to a walker, against a green and cream wall.
© Ipas Nigeria

July 29, 2025

News | Disability inclusion
Rachel Ogunlana
Communications and Engagement Advisor for Ipas Nigeria Health Foundation

Disability rights are human rights: Inclusive reproductive justice in Nigeria

With unsafe abortion remaining a leading cause of maternal death in Nigeria, it is critical that women with disabilities have access to comprehensive reproductive health services—including contraception and safe abortion—free from fear, stigma, and shame, and with the dignity every person deserves.

Women with disabilities face multiple, intersecting challenges that often result in being denied essential reproductive health services when they need them most. Many require specialized care before, during, and after an abortion due to physical or cognitive impairment, yet this care is frequently unavailable or inaccessible. They are also routinely excluded from receiving accurate information about their reproductive health, leaving them unable to make informed, life-saving decisions.

In Gombe State, Ipas Nigeria works with Ipas Collaborative Fund grantees SAIF Advocacy Foundation to advance a disability-inclusive initiative expanding sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for women with disabilities. The project targets systemic change from healthcare provider attitudes to physical infrastructure, while ensuring women receive accurate SRHR information. By also helping civil society organizations become better equipped to design inclusive programs, and communities better mobilized to support access to contraception and safe abortion services, this initiative is achieving sustainable results in Gombe state and beyond.

A nurse in blue scrubs and a face mask stands beside a woman in a patterned skirt and light hijab, who is sitting in a wheelchair, looking up at the nurse in a brightly lit, green-walled room.
Hannatu Tila, at left, is a health provider in Gombe State. Here she greets Munira Saleh, shown right, and prepares to assist her in accessing health services.
A nurse in blue scrubs smiles and talks with a woman in a wheelchair wearing a yellow hijab, patterned pants, and a beige top, inside a hospital waiting area with green and beige walls.

When women with disabilities receive compassionate care from providers who understand their unique needs, they experience fewer barriers to safe abortion and contraception, leading to healthier, more autonomous lives.

Inclusive solutions center lived experience

The project empowers women with disabilities by providing accurate information about their SRHR, training civil society organizations to become advocates for disability rights, and mobilizing communities to recognize and address the unique challenges these women face. To challenge entrenched biases, Ipas applied its User-Centered Design and Values Clarification and Attitude Transformation (VCAT) tools—creating space for new understanding and shifting harmful narratives.
“When people hear that a person living with a disability either wants an abortion or had an abortion, the stigma increases,” says Martha Daniel, executive director of the Advocacy for Children’s Right Initiative and one of the training participants (pictured left). “The training opened our eyes to the fact that most people with disabilities—especially women—are vulnerable to abuse, and this includes rape and other violations.”

A woman in a patterned dress and light headscarf sweeps the dusty ground near a tree in a rural village setting, with houses on either side and a dog in the background.
Tending to the land around her home, Munira Saleh reminds us that women with disabilities are caretakers of their homes, their communities, and their futures. They deserve quality health care that works for them.
Training through this initiative has helped civil society organizations recognize that women with disabilities are not only disproportionately affected by gender-based violence, but also often denied justice or care in its aftermath. This understanding is motivating training participants to recognize and advocate for the rights of women with disabilities. “When we started this training, it was first established that these people have rights. One of the basic rights is the right to healthcare,” Martha notes. “Gender-based violence [against women with disabilities], often from family members or neighbors, has resulted in many unwanted pregnancies. This training was timely. It built our capacity to advocate for quality healthcare, including SRHR services. We’ve now included it in our strategic plan.”
A woman in a cream hijab with gold patterns sits indoors, looking at the camera. A young child in a red outfit sits beside her. The background is softly blurred, showing other people and green walls.
In the lobby, Munira waits for her appointment.

The cost of being ignored

Munira Ibrahim Saleh is a program officer for the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities in Gombe—a local organization trained by the SAIF and Ipas Nigeria initiative. She also works at the Special Education Center and is pursuing a master’s degree at Gombe State University. As a woman with a disability, she has experienced firsthand the challenges of seeking reproductive healthcare in a system not built for her or others like her. “When a person with disability is pregnant, they face challenges in getting healthcare services,” Munira shares. “There was a time I went to the hospital while I was pregnant. A nurse told me if I wouldn’t stand up, she wouldn’t take my blood pressure. I was heavily pregnant at the time. They don’t have knowledge on how to assist a person with a disability. Rather, they will be questioning why you decided to get pregnant in the first place.” Her story is not unique. People with disabilities face a range of additional obstacles: lack of interpreters, inaccessible buildings, assumptions about their competence or morality. “Some people, like those who are blind, are told that since they can’t see, they can’t follow directions,” Munira says. “Deaf people can’t communicate with hospital staff, because there are no interpreters. Someone who can’t speak might come in with stomach pain, but because they can’t express it, they’re misdiagnosed with something like malaria.”
A healthcare worker in blue scrubs examines a woman's knee as she sits in a wheelchair, both are indoors against a green and yellow wall. The woman wears a light yellow headscarf and patterned clothing.

Hannatu Tila takes time to understand Munira’s disability and how it affects her health concerns.

Even health professionals themselves can become sources of harm. “One doctor said to a woman, ‘Who is the wicked man that impregnated you?’—even though she was married,” Munira recalls. “She broke down in tears. It wasn’t out of wedlock. But because she was physically challenged, they questioned why she was pregnant at all.” And in the most tragic cases, stigma and secrecy can lead to irreversible consequences. “There was a woman whose brother got her pregnant. Her parents locked her in a room and forced her to drink herbal medicine [to end the pregnancy]. She drank it until she overdosed and eventually lost her life,” Munira shares.
A woman in a patterned dress and light-colored hijab leans against a green and cream building, holding a bag, while a man walks away in the background.
Leaving the facility without having to navigate difficult stairs.
A dirt road runs through a rustic village with tin-roofed houses on both sides. Several people walk or sit along the street under a bright blue sky with scattered clouds.
Munira Saleh returns home after a respectful, barrier-free medical visit, ready to take on her next task.

A growing movement for dignity and change

After over three years of disability-centered trainings and community mobilization for inclusive care by SAIF and Ipas Nigeria, the healthcare experiences of people with disabilities in Gombe State are improving.

“We’ve really had a lot of changes. And those barriers and gaps have reduced drastically,” shares Munira. “For instance, now if I should visit the hospital, and I’m about to lose my balance, people would stand up and catch me but, in the past, they’d let you fall… Nurses have been trained. One nurse received a query letter for mistreating me.”

Infrastructure improvements have made facilities more accessible, and people with disabilities are getting the specialized care they need.

“Regarding the issue of ramps… we can [now] access various parts of the hospital without any disruptions. In the past, if I wanted to visit, my mind was never at rest—I kept thinking I might not be able to get through. But now they’ve repaired the place; even someone in a wheelchair can pass without difficulty.

“We don’t follow queues anymore,” she adds. “As soon as we arrive, they explain to the crowd that we have to be prioritized.”

A woman wearing a headscarf bends down to feed three goats from a bowl inside a sunlit, rustic shelter with a wooden ladder leaning against the wall.

Back home, Munira feeds her family’s goats. With inclusive and accessible care, Munira’s medical appointments are just another part of her day.

Change is happening, but far from complete.

With continued investment, Ipas Nigeria and SAIF Advocacy Foundation can help build systems that serve all women—without exception. “There’s a need for re-sensitization,” states Munira Ibrahim Saleh. “Some places still don’t understand our value. But when hospitals know what to do for us, it eases our pain. We need more sensitization so we’re seen as equals.” “So now let’s look at the whole of Gombe state,” proposes Martha Daniel. “Not just that, we want to also leverage the media to take this message far, telling them that persons with disability are human beings, and they deserve to be treated as such.”