GWIHR Holds Project Inception Meeting on Stigma Reduction Intervention

By Edidiong Obot
UYO
The Greater Women Initiative for Health and Right (GWIHR) has convened a Project Inception Meeting at Watbridge Hotel and Suites, Uyo, as part of activities marking the onboarding of a six-month Stigma Reduction Intervention Project currently targeted at Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
The meeting, which brought together key community stakeholders, was aimed at formally introducing the project and strengthening collaboration towards addressing stigma associated with sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), particularly abortion-related stigma.
Speaking at the meeting, the Team Lead and Programmes/Monitoring and Evaluation Officer of GWIHR, Mr. Obiano Jude, alongside the Programmes Officer, Mr. Israel Ezeaku, who represented the Executive Director, Ms. Aseme Josephine, explained that the goal of the project is to enhance access to rights-based reproductive healthcare services while reducing abortion stigma in the project area.
According to them, the Stigma Reduction Intervention Project is designed to build the capacity of community stakeholders to effectively implement stigma-reduction strategies, improve SRHR knowledge, strengthen social support systems, address harmful social norms and challenge abortion-related misinformation.
They noted that the project recognises stigma as a major barrier to accessing essential reproductive healthcare services and seeks to foster a more inclusive, informed and supportive community environment.
GWIHR, a youth-led, community-based organisation operating at the subnational level in Southern Nigeria, is committed to advancing gender equality, promoting health equity, safeguarding human rights and empowering adolescent girls and young women, including those engaged in sex work and those who use or inject drugs.
The organisation emphasised its dedication to creating an environment where diverse populations, irrespective of sexuality, gender identity, expression or ability, can live healthy and dignified lives free from violence, exclusion and discrimination.
Founded in 2014 as an informal group of young friends and later registered in 2016 under Part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020 as a non-profit organisation, GWIHR has since expanded its reach across Rivers, Abia, Imo and Akwa Ibom States.
GWIHR’s work spans advocacy, awareness campaigns, capacity building, service delivery, policy advancement, legal reforms, empowerment programmes, research, monitoring and evaluation. The organisation also enjoys global recognition, representing young sex workers on the Global HIV Prevention Advisory Group.
With a mission to uphold the voices of diverse vulnerable women and girls and a vision of a society where they live healthy and dignified lives, GWIHR stated that the project aligns with its broader goal of reducing mortality linked to sexual and reproductive health-related infections, gender-based violence and poverty.
The organisation further reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening partnerships with community and religious leaders, law enforcement agencies, policymakers and both private and public institutions to ensure sustainable, stigma-free SRHR interventions within communities.