Sylvanus Viashima, Jalingo
The ECWA Evangel VVF Centre has conducted over two hundred and twenty Seven free surgical operations for women and girls with obstetric Fistula in Taraba and Gombe states.
Professor Sunday Lengmang, project Coordinator for the Comprehensive Women’s Health Project at the Center disclosed this at a stakeholders Biennial meeting on Prevention, treatment and elimination of Obstetric Fistula in Nigeria held in Jalingo.
The stakeholders meeting comes as part of activities for the free medical outreach of the centre held at the UMCN hospital in Jalingo where several women and girls were successfully operated.
Lengmang said the project funded by the Australian Aid through other development partners aims to run for a period of three years with a target to at least treat three Hundred and thirty cases.
He said the centre was also anchoring mentorship program where other persons also have the opportunity to learn from the skills so as to decisively tackle the menace of Obstetric Fistula in the country.
“This project started in 2020 and is expected to run till December ending this year. We have various parameters to measure our level of progress especially with training of personnel, engagement with relevant stakeholders, skills transfer and of course, the actual treatment.
“As you are well aware, the COVID-19 pandemic affected our work at the initial stage but I can assure you that we have done tremendously well. We have already overshoot some of our targets and in areas that we still have shortcomings, we hope to close the gap before the end of the year.
“The joy of it all is that, despite the challenges of insecurity and others, we have been able to reach a good number of people and have changed their lives for the better. We just hope we would be able to continue to do even more beyond the program lifecycle” Lengmang said.
Mr Rita Denise, a beneficiary who contracted the condition during childbirth told our correspondent that her life had turned to that of a very miserable and lonely person since she could no longer relate with people freely knowing her condition.
She commended the centre for the initiative and pleaded that the Centre should extend their services as a lot of women are suffering from the same condition in silence.
Other stakeholders at the meeting also commended the centre for efforts at ensuring that public places are built with the consideration for those with disabilities.
Our correspondent reports that the ECWA Evangel VVF Centre is currently the only VVF centre in Nigeria that provides urinary diversion surgery for inoperable fistula and other essential Fistula related treatment.