Kaduna state government has created a N50m budget line for Vesico Vaginal Fistula(VVF) patients in the 2020 budget which will cater for the patient’s health needs, provide food and skills for the patients when they get healed.
The Commissioner of Human Services and Social Development, Hajiya Hafsat Mohammed Baba who disclosed this at the high level conference on Obstetric Fistula on Monday, said that there are 12,000 recorded case of the disease in Kaduna state government.
According to her, there is just one ward at the Gambo Sawaba hospital that treats VVF cases in the state and that the Centre can only treat 200 patients annually, in spite of the high number of cases.
Hajiya Hafsat said that the state government is meticulous in treating VVF patients as they are being treated in stages.
‘’In the first phase, patients are hospitalized for at least three weeks and they go through psycho-social aid process , which include nutrition and counselling. The procedure stage is when surgery or repair is conducted on the patients. The third stage is when patients go through rehabilitation process,’’ she maintained.
The commissioner further said that skills and training are offered to the patients after healing and starter packs are issued to them afterward, in order to integrate them into society.
Governor Nasir El Rufai who was represented by Dr Amina Mohammed-Baloni, the Commissioner of Health, commended Fifth Chucker Polo and Country Club for the bold step taken in defining the partnership with the Government of Kaduna State and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), to eradicate fistula from Kaduna State.
El Rufai said that the main objective of his administration is prevention of new fistulas from occurring and combating the huge backlog in fistula repairs, reducing by 98% (12,000) the number of women requiring fistula repair in Kaduna State by 2022.
‘’ By working together, the Government, the Private Sector and Development Partners can unleash innovative ways of mobilizing the requisite ideas, expertise and resources and create shared accountability to tackle and end obstetric fistula in Kaduna State,’’ he added.
In his contribution, Governor El Rufai’s Chief of Staff, Malam Muhammad Sani Abdullahi promised that Kaduna state will provide N4.5 million for 100 fistula repair surgeries, N2.5 million for the socio-economic rehabilitation of 25 indigent patients, support the recruitment of 10 vocational skills instructors at VVF Rehabilitation Unit at General Hoospital Zaria and train six additional health workers on the management of Obstetric Fistula, including two surgeons.
The Wife of Kaduna state governor, Hajiya Aisha Ummi El Rufai, who was given the title of Ambassador of Fistula, praised the Commissioner of Human Services and Social Development, Hajiya Hafsat Baba and the staff of UNFPA for leading the fight against VVF.
Hajiya Aisha who recalled that she has made several visits to the VVF Centre at the Gambo Sawaba General hospital, said that the patients need to be supported.
The Wife of the governor said that there is a nexus between Kaduna Emergency Nutrition Action Plan(KADENAP), which she is spearheading and the fight against VVF, adding that both afflict the poor and vulnerable in society.
Speaking on the global campaign to end Fistula, Dr Mamadou Kante, Deputy Regional Director of UNFPA said that the disease ‘’represents the face of the global community’s failure to protect the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls as well as a failure to achieve equitable access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive healthcare services.’’
‘’The emotional and physical side effects of obstetric fistulas stem largely from the fact that urine or faeces leak from the fistulas of affected women and cause them to be shunned by others,’’ Dr Kante said.
‘’ As a result of a fistula, women and girls lose their babies, suffer constant pain or discomfort created by the unrelenting wetness from the leak, and are often deserted by their husbands and communities. Moreover, the women and girls become socially isolated, lose the ability to sustain normal lives, and become economically dependent on others,’’ he added.
According to him, many communities view fistula as a curse and hide the women and girls away, rather than realizing that it is a medical condition.
Kante noted that decreasing the prevalence of obstetric fistula is challenging, because it requires altering cultural practices on the one hand and strengthening very weak healthcare systems on the other.
He lamented that ‘’Nigeria contributes a disproportionate 7.5% of the global fistula burden, with estimated 150,000 women and girls suffering with untreated fistulas (NDHS2008) and more than 12,000 new cases occurring every year (EngenderHealth2010).’’
Kante said that ‘’these numbers are not acceptable; not when fistula is all but eliminated from the developed world.’’
Donations were made by individuals and corporate organisations, with Fifth Chukker Polo and Country Club giving N5 million, promising that it will give N5 million yearly for the next ten years.
