Page 70 - IJPS-10-1

International Journal of
Population Studies Access to sexual and reproductive health services

our shop as the market was closed” (PP6, female, 35 years the global promotion of availability of SRH services,
old). Even among couples, cases of unintended pregnancy people from most rural areas are still reluctant to take up
still occurred. This is another indication that more time SRH services and products.
were dedicated by the couples to sexual intercourse.
Furthermore, it was found that access to SRH products
Furthermore, there were also reported cases of abortion and services was inadequate due to high prices driven by the
by the participants. Abortion which is outlawed in Nigeria limited availability of the products and services. This poor
(except in cases of rape or where a pregnancy threatens the availability and subsequent high prices, as reported by the
mother’s life) is still clandestinely carried out in Nigeria. respondents, spurred on the adoption of unhygienic and
A significant number of abortions in the country are risky health practices which created more problems against
performed outside the formal health system. This usually the backdrop of the already poor SRH utilization in the
involves the use of unsafe methods which include ingesting area. Aly et al. (2020) had reported that one of the primary
dangerous chemicals or high doses of pharmaceuticals, barriers to access is the supply shortage caused by supply
or having an unqualified worker perform the abortion. chain disruption. Shortage in supply was a global challenge
These methods are high-risk and tremendously dangerous. which was influenced by a number of factors. For instance,
Amidst the lockdown, the possibility of increase in unsafe India put a limit on the export of some pharmaceutical
abortion becomes extremely high. A patent medicine dealer ingredients and medications, including progesterone,
observed that “despite low patronage during this lockdown, which is used in the contraceptive pill and intrauterine
I see up to 3 – 4 four girls in <2 weeks who come to ask for devices (Aly et al., 2020). This put the global supply and
abortion pills” (PP30, male, 34 years old, patent medicine distribution of SRH products at risk. Even Malaysia’s Karex
dealer). This indicates that unsafe abortion showed signs of Bhd, the world’s largest condom manufacturer, was forced
increasing and treatment of complications resulting from to close in March 2020, thus limiting the export of condoms
the abortion process is not properly administered and (Ming, 2020). In Nigeria, Kanabe (2021) documented that
regulated during the pandemic, signaling the deterioration DKT, one of the leading suppliers of contraceptives in
in this regard which is superimposed on the already Nigeria reported that they did not have much challenges
limited access to abortion services in Nigeria prior to in supplying contraceptives as government had given them
the pandemic. Taken together, COVID-19 pandemic has waiver, but their products could not be widely sold as most
impacted the access to SRH care. shops were closed. In addition, the company reported that

4. Discussion there were disruptions at the port that prevented them
from clearing their container for up to 3 months. This
Availability and accessibility of SRH products and services observed shortage in supply of these products will most
is essential to its persistent utilization. This study aimed likely exacerbate the SRH crisis in the community. This will
at examining access to SRH services and products amidst further derail the effort at ensuring global access to SRH.
COVID-19 lockdown in rural areas of Enugu State, Nigeria.
Qualitative method was used to elicit adequate SRH In Nigeria, the private sector plays a key role in health-care
information from the respondents. Our findings showed delivery. They provide health-care services to a substantial
that SRH products were hardly available because markets proportion of the population (Oyeyemi et al., 2020). This
and street vendors were closed in compliance with the is where the patent medicine dealers play their part as they
lockdown measures, which limited access to these products belong to under the umbrella of patent and proprietary
and services. This finding is consistent with that of IWHC medicine vendors (PPMVs). They are the mainstay of the
(2020), which found that access to SRH has been reduced rural health sector. The 2018 Nigeria Demographic and
in the United States due to COVID-19 as many young Health Survey (NDHS) showed that this sector provided
women who obtain contraceptive products and services on modern contraceptives for 41% of users and was the place
college campuses failed to receive such products due to the of institutional delivery for 33% of women (NDHS, 2018).
closure of schools. The immediate implication of this is that Our study found that there was a decline in the patronage of
SRH crisis will be worsened. Therefore, there will likely be these patent medical stores during the COVID-19 lockdown
an increase in the number of people who adopt high-risk in the area because people avoided medical establishment
health practices, such as self-medication, condomless sex for fear of contracting the virus. These establishments and
among unmarried partners, and unassisted delivery. This other major medical establishment were seen as conduit
becomes even more worrisome as an increasing number of for the virus. Our findings contradict that of IntegatE
adolescents and women in most rural villages exhibit non- Project (a 4-year initiative [2017 – 2021] funded by the
chalant attitude toward the uptake of SRH services and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and MSD for Mothers
products. Denno et al. (2015) have observed that despite that seeks to increase access to contraceptive methods by

Volume 10 Issue 1 (2024) 64 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.2354