By EgwuAgha Amarachukwu
Abakaliki
Medical Director of National Obstetric Fistula Centre (NOFC), Ebonyi state, Prof. Sunday Adeoye, has called on women, especially pregnant mothers, to always seek the services of well-trained medical personnel during birth and gynecology-related cases, saying “such measure would help in the prevention and control of Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF) outbreak.”
He made the call yesterday during a Road Work in the fight against Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF) in Ebonyi.
According to him, though fistula was preventable, cases of estrogenic Fistula is on the rise in the country, and that surgery procedure such as caesarian section accounted for 15 per cent of VVF cases.
Blueprint gathered that available statistics indicated that about 12, 000 women in Nigeria were afflicted with Vesico Vaginal Fistula annually with Ebonyi rated among states with the highest number of cases.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Daniel Umezurike, emphasised that the state government was collaborating with some aid agencies and health partners to identify those suffering from VVF.
Wife of the Governor, Mrs. Rachael Umahi, represented by the Wife of Chief of Staff, Mrs. Patience Offor Okorie, stressed the need for women in the state to rise up against factors that exposed them to the disease to ensure its eradication.
Representatives of some Development Partners, including USAID, UNFPA and Daughters of Virtue and Empowerment Initiative, commended the state and federal governments for developing necessary medical infrastructure to combat the disease.
