Potentials of Providing Sexual and Reproductive Health Information to Rural Women in Nigeria: A Challenge of Library Services

Abstract

While motherhood is a thing of joy, it is a source of sadness to many households as many women
lose their life-giving birth in Nigeria. Every single day, Nigeria loses hundreds or thousands of
lives, particularly local women of childbearing and sexually related issues. Discussions on
reproductive and sexual health rights which had hitherto been a ‘taboo’ in traditional African
societies are on the increase amongst African scholars. The need for women to have access to
quality reproductive health services such as medical care, planned family, safe pregnancy,
delivery care and treatment and prevention of sexually transmitted infections, such as HIV/AIDS
is increasingly gaining recognition in Africa at large and Nigeria in particular. Sex and
reproductive information are important for women everywhere, majority of women live in rural
areas, they are the least knowledgeable and informed about reproductive health issues due to
educational, economic and cultural factors that pose as barriers to reproductive health
information seeking. The sharing or provision of sexual and reproductive health (SRH)
information to local women holds significant potential for improving health outcomes and
empowering communities. This study buttresses the importance of sexual and reproductive health
information dissemination on women's health knowledge, attitudes, and practices in a local
context. By leveraging community-based programs, health education programmes and campaigns,
information packaging and repackaging, outreach services, awareness and sensitization,
advocating for rural women’ health information services, and other effective strategies for
enhancing SRH education and access to information which can leads to better reproductive health
outcomes and improved overall well-being. Information needed to actualize this paper was
gathered from secondary sources of data which were obtained from text books, journal articles,
conference papers and online sources etc. this involves reading meaning into materials consulted
for purpose of achieving a reliable conclusion.