By Loveth Asogwa Obiora,
Survive Fistula Health care Foundation (SFHF) on Friday 21st may 2021 in Abuja organized a media roundtable for the media practitioners to mark International Day to End Obstetric Fistula 2021.
The objectives of the event to orientate the media about SFHF and the CIWHIN project, to orientate the media on the magnitude of fistula and sexual and reproductive health needs of persons with disabilities PWDs in Nigeria, and to discuss potential areas of collaboration between the media and SFHF, and the project is supported by CBM.
The Executive Director, SFHF, Mrs Peters Ogunmayin in a chat with TQM said that it was divine intervention that she is working on fistula because when she was in Ministry of Health in motherhood and child care department but later she was transferred to fistula care and that was when she saw what these women are passing through because of fistula, the discrimination, stigmatization, rejection and even the way they are exposed to different health issues and diseases and the government does not pay attention to it, the money being allocated to them is not insufficient, that was what brought about her passion to work on women with fistula to have a better life.
Speaking further, she stated that the government should support NGOs that are working on women with fistula to eradicate the causes of fistula and to ensure that those that has fistula are being treated and taken care of because the cases keep rising and the treatment in not measurable up to the cases.
Dr. Amodu in a presentation of overview of fistula, what is all about, the types, and causes, he stated that women with fistula faces discrimination in the society, and it is double discrimination to women with disability that has fistula, because they are facing discrimination as women with disability and then it becomes another thing when a woman with disability has fistula. He also stated the magnitude of fistula according to WHO, over 2million women lives with fistula, 50,000 new cases yearly globally and in Nigeria, it is estimated 150,000 women in Nigeria lives with fistula and over 12,000 new cases yearly, and that is why the media needs to take the issue of fistula very serious.
The media participant established a media working group, action plans on how to collaborate with SFHF in implementing the project and also amplifying the message to the masses on causes of fistula, prevention of fistula, and contribution to the creation of a fistula free generation and society.
Obstetric fistula is one of the most serious and tragic childbirth injuries. A hole between the birth canal and bladder and/or rectum, it is caused by prolonged, obstructed labour without access to timely, high-quality medical treatment. It leaves women with incontinence problems, and often leads to chronic medical problems, depression, social isolation and deepening poverty.
Every 23rd May, the global community commemorates the International Day to End Obstetric Fistula (IDEOF). The day is set aside by the United Nations, aims to recognize the struggles of women living with fistula, a devastating health condition caused primarily by prolonged/obstructed labor and, increasingly, by unsafe obstetric or gynecological surgery.
Below are the picture of the meeting:
