Franka Osakwe
Despite effort by EngenderHealth and other internal partners, over 100, 000 Nigerian women living with fistula (90 per cent of cases) still remain untreated.
Experts revealed this yesterday during a media roundtable on fistula intervention organized by Engender Health, at Sokoto.
According to a clinical associate, Fistula Care plus Project, Dr. Suleiman Zakariya, Nigeria, about 80,000-120,000 women are estimated to be with obstetric fistula in Nigeria with (90 per cent of these cases) largely untreated.
He mentioned that many of the clients live in rural areas far away from treatment centers, while others are not aware of existing facilities and unable to access care.
He said Fistula care plus along with other partners carries out only 5,000 repairs in a year. “The remaining 7,000 cases are not treated. These are added to the backlog existing cases of 120,000”.
He explained that the Fistula Care Plus project supports fistula care activities in Bauchi, Cross River, Ebonyi, Kano, Jigawa, Oyo, Kastina, Kebbi, Kwara, Sokoto, Zamfara states, and offer extended support to Kaduna, Plateu and Akwaibom states, thereby scaling up service delivery and intervention services to 14 states.
However, not many Fistula clients are aware of these centers while others may not have the available resources to get to the centers.
He said there is need to create more awareness on prevention as well as availability of treatment centers. “All fistula services are free in all the hospitals we partner with, some also providing 3 square meals to patients. Through the ‘Pooled Effort’, we have been able to reduce the number of backlog cases”, he said.
Explaining some of the intervention activities of EngenderHealth, he said; “we are involved in upgrading of emergency obstetric care to prevent fistula, procuring of essential equipment, improving access to Family Planning, use of catheter and partograph to monitor labour, readiness to provide safe and quality caeserian”.
At Maryam Abacha Women and Children Hospital, Sokoto State- one of the Fistula Care Plus support facilities, the Chief Medical Doctor, Dr. Bello Lawal, spoke on the challenges of accessing Fistula treatment in the facility.
He said about 261 Fistula clients was admitted last year, with 169 successful surgeries performed. “The major constrain we have is getting them to access the health facility. Ignorance is the major contributing factor we encounter”, he told journalists during a visit to the hospital.
“The media has a role to play in creating more awareness on prevention and treatment of the condition, Ebere Diokpa, Fistula advocate with Engender Health, added. She said there is need for women suffering from fistula to seek treatment from an accredited fistula treatment Centre. “Pregnant women need to know that they should deliver using a professional skilled birth attendant with timely access to emergency obstetrical care, they need to know that they should attend a minimum of 4 antenatal care sessions, women need to make positive decisions about their own reproductive intentions”, she said.
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