The North East Development Commission (NEDC) has rendered ‘free fistula repairs’ for 100 girls and women in Borno. The 10-day corrective surgeries on the Vesicovaginal Fistula (VVF) patients; are being conducted at the State’s Specialists Hospital, Maiduguri, in collaboration with Fistula Foundation, Nigeria. While flagging off the fistula repair campaigns Tuesday in Maiduguri, the Commission’s board Chairman, Maj-Gen. Paul Tarfa (rtd) who was represented by Hajiya Asmau Mohammed disclosed: “There are 250,000 women awaiting repairs in the country. Out of this, only 5,000 women or 1.2% of them were not done with the fistula repairs every year. She added that 12,000 new cases of VVF also develop every year from the Northeast. Asmau attributed VVF to Boko Haram insurgency and increased poverty that hinders women’s access to healthcare.
“The plights of these unfortunate women had been experiencing obstetric fistula,” she lamented, adding that they are being dejected and lonely in communities. She said that all efforts are made to bring succour to the women to pick the pieces of their lives. “They should be offered with a new lease for meaningful existence in their respective communities,” she said. According to her, this motivated the commission to partner with the Borno State Government and the Foundation.
She noted the free fistula repair campaigns could improve the lives of the affected women. Continuing, she added: “The corrective surgeries suffering from obstetric fistulae are an important step that gives them hope of recovery,” as well as improve their mental state of health. This; according to her, affords the women freedom to relate with families and communities to boost the ability to lead a normal life. She urged the discharged patients to remain fistula free by making sure that they postpone pregnancy for a year and give birth through cesarean She also tasked the hospital and its staff to continue monitoring the repaired women for 12 weeks to hasten patients’ recovery.
On people’s state of health; he said: “We’re concerned on the various humanitarian activities of the commission, particularly on health issues that affect many people’s lives; including the 100 women that had free fistula repairs in Borno state.” He noted that most of the health issues are critical and challenging in the Northeast. Alkali disclosed that during the one week repair exercise in 2019; 5,000 patients benefitted in IDP camps. He added that 130 patients were also performed on people suffering from hernia and appendix during the same period. “A total of 240 IDPs had eye sight corrections with the distribution of eye glasses
