UNFPA, Norwegian Govt. treat 50 VVF patients in Gombe State

UNFPA, Norwegian Govt. treat 50 VVF patients in Gombe State

No fewer than 50 vulnerable women have been treated with vesicovaginal fistulas free of charge in Gombe State.

The operation was jointly organised by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the NORWEGIAN Government, and the Fistula Foundation Nigeria (FFN).

Thousands of women in the northern part of the country have died of VVF-related diseases.

It’s an abnormal opening between the bladder and the vagina that results in continuous and unremitting urinary incontinence.

The most common known causes of VVF are obstructed labour, early marriages, poverty, and women’s limited control over the use of family resources.

Women and girls with this ailment are often abandoned by their spouses and isolated due to the offensive odour and associated shame of urine leakage.

This has been of concern to the EU, leading to surgery to repair the abnormalcy.

Director of the FFN, Musa Isa, said the surgery was conducted at the Specialist Hospital, Gombe, between Monday, September 24th, and September 28th, 2023.
Also commenting, Dr. Sa’ad Idris, the lead surgeon, described the exercise as successful.

The surgeon further advised patients to adhere strictly to the medical advice to improve their health status.

He urged husbands to support their wives during pregnancy and childbirth to avoid complications.

The beneficiaries commended the foundation and the UNFPA /Norwegian government for the free exercise and called on other stakeholders to emulate them.
This initiative has helped thousands of vulnerable people in Gombe State.