By Abubakar Rabilu Gombe
The Norwegian Government in conjunction with UNFPA and Fistula Foundation has carried out successful surgeries for 61 women affected by Virginal Fistula in Gombe state.
In an interview with Dr. Muhammad Buwa Garba, the Deputy Director medical services ministry of health Gombe state who is also the VVF Desk officer of the state specialist hospital, commended the partners for doing their best and called on NGO’s and wealthy individuals to assists to those kind patients.
Dr Garba Buwa statrd that out of the 61 patients that had undergone the surgery, not all of them are from Gombe State as some of them came from Abuja and and as far as Zamfara state to benefits from the free surgery sponsored by the Norwegian Government and UNFPA.
According to him, “60.7 per cent of the patients treated are from Gombe state while the remaining ones are from various states”.
He explained that most of the patients may have ignored antenatal services or may have not received quality care during their labour or delivery. He said, “If they had received quality care they will not become patients of the VVF of which Obstetric is also the cause.
He called on major stakeholders to also come and assist the patient and also call on the patients that they should not hide themselves the moment they become VVF patients.
He also said Gombe has VVF Centre for the first time in Gombe State Specialist Hospital where patients across Nigeria come and get surgery unlike before that can do the surgery based on outreach.
On his part, Musa Isa, of the VVF Foundation, who was represented by the field officer of the foundation, Ibrahim Abubakar, stated that they had chosen to assist patients of VVF just because most of the patients are poorest of the poor that are always living from hand to mouth.
He added that when women are getting pregnant, they are not opportuned to attend antenatal at their localities due to their hardship condition as they mostly end up having a problem of that.
Some of the patients came from neighbouring Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states while some also can from Nasarawa State to benefit from the gesture.
Some patient interviewed from their hospital beds, Adams Isa from Jigawa Stateand Aishatu Yakubu from Kaltungo Local Government Area of Gombe State expressed their happiness with the Norwegian Government and the UNFPA with the assistance of the Gombe State Government for putting smiles in their faces which has brought an end of their suffering.
Some of them stated that as a patients, they couldn’t associate themselves with other women in any social gathering due to their illness because people disown them.
They called on the Government and other donors to extend the gesture and thanked them for announcing it through various means of communication stressing that there are many women facing this problem and may not come out and voice it.
