Young Leader Trains Budding Health Professionals with Inclusive Curriculum

Mary Nnah

Olabode Ekerin, a Women Deliver young leader and the Project Lead of The WiseUp Initiative for Good Health and Community Development has successfully trained 40 budding health professionals on inclusive healthcare curriculums that addresses the health needs of sexual minorities.

This was made possible through the Rainbow Access Project. The Rainbow Access Project is an innovative response to the gap in sexual minority health education among health profession students in Nigeria.

The project was funded by Women Deliver. Through the project, 40 health profession students across different universities in Nigeria were trained with an inclusive curriculum that will cater for the health of sexual minorities. Women Deliver is a leading network and global advocacy organisation that champions gender equality and the health and rights of girls and women, in all their intersecting identities.

While speaking with reporters, Olabode highlighted that this will be the first time in Nigeria that such an inclusive curriculum will be developed to train health profession students.

The curriculum included online lectures and case-based small-group discussions covering sexual minority terminology, inclusive sexual history taking, primary care and health maintenance, and transition-related care. The project also included conversations with individuals who identify as sexual minorities to understand their key needs.

Students were surveyed before and after completing the curriculum to assess for an increase in confidence and knowledge related to sexual minorities-specific care.

Nearly all the students initially felt unprepared to sensitively elicit information. However, there was a significant improvement in students’ confidence in addressing sexual minorities’ health after completing the curriculum. While this was a pilot project, the Rainbow Access Project is promising an intervention to improve healthcare services delivered to sexual minorities.

Olabode called for the need for curriculum reform especially the curriculum used to teach health profession students. He believes that Universal Health Coverage UHC will not be achievable if this is not addressed.