By Isaac Olufemi Ojo
IBADAN — In a bid to strengthen community accountability and response mechanisms for human rights abuses, the Oyo State Primary Healthcare Board has moved to integrate gender-based violence (GBV) desks and response structures across primary healthcare centers (PHCs) in the state.
This development follows an advocacy visit by the Family Counseling Centre and the Network of People Living with HIV (NEPWHAN) to the office of the Executive Secretary of the Oyo State Primary Healthcare Board, Dr. Muideen Olatunji.
Speaking with newsmen after the high-level consultative meeting, Mr. Olatokunbo Famiyesin, the program officer for NEPWHAN, explained that the collaboration aims to streamline how GBV and human rights violations are reported and resolved at the grassroots level under the Community-Led Monitoring (CLM) project.
According to him, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) implementing the project across the state frequently encounter gender and human rights cases within local communities, particularly around primary care facilities.
He stressed the necessity of having robust, institutionalized referral and resolution structures in place.
“Over time, we’ve been discovering GBV cases under the CLM. And for each CBO that covers the project implementing in the state, when they identify those gender and human rights cases, they should have, like, a system in place to resolve those cases and also have stakeholders they can work with when cases arise, especially since they are working at primary care centres,” Olatokunbo stated.
He noted that while separate community rights projects and state-level response teams previously existed, bringing the primary healthcare board into the framework was vital to expanding service providers and embedding functional structures directly into primary healthcare settings.
Olatokunbo added that the engagement has successfully secured the approval of the Executive Secretary, granting CBOs the authorization to work directly with designated PHC desk officers Mrs. Olawoyin.
This synergy will also ensure that upcoming community sensitizations and awareness campaigns are coordinated directly through existing primary healthcare structures rather than bypassing local health authorities.
“Before we could have the meeting with the desk officer, we had to meet with the executive secretary, who gave us permission and the go-ahead to meet directly with the desk officer and to continue working with the desk officer,” he affirmed.
With the green light from the board, the coalition of health advocates and civil society actors is set to deepen collaboration with PHC desk officers to ensure swift, coordinated justice and support for survivors of gender-based violence across communities in Oyo State.
