Yesterday was observed worldwide as International Day to End Obstetric Fistula. In 2003, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and its partners launched the global campaign to end the malady and restore the health of those sickened by the condition.
In 2012, the United Nations General Assembly through resolution A/RES/67/147 proclaimed May 23 every year, starting from 2013,as a day to generate global awareness and intensify actions towards putting the menace on the back foot.
The theme for this year’s commemoration is: “women’s Rights Are Human Rights.”
According to available statistics, between two and three million women and girls in developing countries are living with the medical condition. The disease is prevalent in the sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, the Arab region, Latin America and the Caribbean, with between 50 and 100, 000 new cases added each year.
However, the good news is that the Federal Government intended to establish at least one VVF centre in each of the six geopolitical zones in the country for effective treatment of the disease.
One of the major constraints hindering the efforts to contain the condition is paucity of midwives, particularly at primary health care facilities at local government areas in Nigeria. Having enough qualified midwives at rural facilities will assist in stopping obstructedlabour which is the major cause of the disease.
Governmentat all levels also needs to do more on the training of personnel as well as sensitise the public on the importance of ante natal care to stop obstructed labour.
Early marriage has been identified as one of the forerunners of VVF. This avoidable condition plagues the Nigerian girl-child especially in the northern part of the country where the practice is prevalent.
It is on record thatover 36,000 Nigerian womendie of pregnancy and childbirth-related complications annually with an estimated 800,000 injuries mostly resulting in.
That Nigeria still carries the highest burden of VVF in the world and 12,000 fresh cases are added annually is a sad commentary on our health care sector decades after attaining nationhood.
The VVF is an abnormal fistulous tract extending between the bladder and the vagina that allows the continuous involuntary discharge of urine into the vaginal vault. It is often caused by having babies too early when the body is not developed enough for the successful passage of a baby through the birth canal.
The consequences of such damage are incontinence andrelated conditions such as dermatitis and erosion of the skin and other tissues in the vulva and vagina from constant leaking of urine or faeces. In extreme cases, the urethra, bladder and vaginal wall can be completely eroded. If nerves and limbs are damaged, victims can develop foot-drop, a loss of co-ordination with one or both of the lower limbs.
Young girls often develop VVF during their first pregnancy. Majority of them get thrown out of their marriages as a result of the illness. Not only that. They suffer lack of support and are not welcome in their communities. Over time, they are excommunicated with the attendant psychological burden.
Theprevalence of the disease, frightening as it is, shows that the various governments are not doing enough to combat the scourge. They must provide better equipped hospitals in areas where the ailment is preponderant, while existing facilities are upgraded. It is inexcusable that culture and religion are held responsible for the trauma faced by a girl-child. This state of affairs poses a serious challenge to the Child’s Rights Act which has been domesticated in 24 states of the federation and the numerous women’s rights legislations.
Government should muster enough political will to punish rapists and older people who put innocent, underage children through this nasty suffering. Parents who pull girl-kids from school for marriage should be sanctioned. Unskilled birth attendants who perform illegal child delivery should not be spared.
In the light of the dangers listed above, the federal government’s directivethat marriage age should be from 18 years should be given a legal backing because this persistent practice cannot be swept away by a mere directive.
Healthcare givers will do well to enlighten parents and guardians on the hazards associated with the practice in addition to whatever sanctions it deems fit for railroading minors into challenges nature has not prepared them for.
It is a tragedy that despite concerted efforts being made by concerned citizens and some Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to discourage early marriages as well as punish pedophiles who subject underage girls to avoidable trauma and humiliation, the practice still continues in several quarters.
We advocate tougher sanctions against men with wrong taste or preference for the minor in a country where a plethora of women of marriageable age is just at their beck and call.
