FG, ECOWAS partner to rehabilitate 60 VVF patients in Katsina
The Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Ministry of Women Affairs and the Economic Community of West Africa States, have partnered to rehabilitate 60 women battling with Vesico-Vaginal Fistula in Katsina State.
In a statement issued by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Minister of Women Affairs, Justice Eze on Monday, the Federal Government announced the pre-commencement and pre-implementation needs assessment initiative. The minister stated that the initiative intends to rehabilitate at least 60 VVF patients for the care of Obstetric Fistula and ⁶organising capacity building for at least 30 health workers and surgeons.
VVF is a significant public health issue in Nigeria, where it affects a substantial number of women. Nigeria accounts for approximately 40 per cent of global VVF cases, with estimates suggesting that between 400,000 to 800,000 women currently suffer from this condition, and about 20,000 new cases are reported annually.
The minister, through the Permanent Secretary, Dr Maryam Keshinro, thanked the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre for its support and other development partners who are active in the fight against fistula.
“We are planning Fistula surgeries for at least 60 women and girls identified as victims of Fistula and providing social economic reintegration to at least 50 per cent of these women treated for the fistula surgery with subsidies and technical support to develop income-generating activities,” she said.
According to her, to ensure adequate implementation of the initiative, the ministry decided to first carry out a pre-commencement need assessment visit in preparation for the project flag-off/sensitisation and awareness creation in the state.
She, however, noted that ensuring the general health well-being of all and, especially that of women and girls, is in line with President Bola Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda for women and health.
The focal person for the project, Mr Ilyasu Zubair, also commended ECOWAS and the federal government for the collaboration.
Other focus of the three-day workshop ongoing in Katsina includes information and awareness raising on the causes and consequences of the disease and advocacy for their integration into national health development programmes in Nigeria through the adoption of appropriate legal mechanisms.
