Health
FISTULA Foundation Nigeria (FFN), in collaboration with the Sokoto state government and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), has commenced free repair surgery of 50 Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF) patients at the Goronyo Fistula Treatment Centre in Sokoto state.
The FFN Director, Mr Musa Isa, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Goronyo, on Wednesday, that the exercise, which was being supported by Global Affairs Canada, had been scheduled for between March 22 to March 26.
Isa said three doctors and six nurses had been deployed to handle cases at the Goronyo treatment centre, while patients with complex cases that needed more specialized services have been referred to the Maryam Abacha Fistula Treatment centre in Sokoto metropolis.
The FFN director explained that 37 women, living with fistula, have so far been screened from various parts of Nigeria and more were expected to show up.
Isa thanked the government and people of Canada for making it possible to have VVF treatment in the country adding that the free VVF surgery is ongoing at a similar centre in Bauchi state.
He urged women and girls living with the condition, from any part of the country, to register at the centre for the surgery.
Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), while monitoring the exercise, the Sokoto State VVF Coordinator at the Ministry of Health, Malama Zainab Muhammad-Yabo, commended the donors for their support.
Muhammad-Yabo said the state had taken delivery of the supporting consumables and other kits, from the supporting organizations, noting that the government complemented by ensuring adequate planning and logistics, to ensure a hitch-free exercise.
She called for more partnerships between state governments and NGOs, to assist in identifying more patients so that they could also benefit, stressing that more effort was needed in view of the increasing number of cases.
The coordinator expressed satisfaction at the attitudes of the workers and patients to the exercise and called on the hospital community to support, so as to ensure the successful conduct of the exercise.
Some of the patients interviewed at the Goronyo treatment center told NAN that they contracted VVF after childbirth in the hospital, six traced their cases to home delivery, while one patient said she got the condition after surgery for a different illness. (NAN)
– Mar. 24, 2021 @ 12:59 GMT
Tags: Fistula Foundation targets 50 VVF patients for free repairs in Sokoto says official
