The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has donated U.S.$1,960,000 to some member states to improve care for women and girls suffering from obstetric fistula.
Development Diaries reports that the country beneficiaries are Benin, Ivory Coast, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria and Togo.
It is understood that each of the aforementioned countries received U.S.$245,000 through the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre (EGDC) to improve care for women and girls in need of treatment.
Obstetric fistula continues to be a major public health issue in West Africa because of several issues, such as poor infrastructure, poverty, cultural norms, and restricted access to high-quality maternal health care.
It is a serious and preventable childbirth injury that occurs when there is prolonged obstructed labour without timely medical intervention, often resulting in a hole (fistula) between the birth canal and bladder or rectum.
According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the West and Central Africa regions account for more than half the world’s two million fistula cases but still have catastrophic rates of fistula repair.
Also, more than 400,000 women with fistula in Nigeria remain untreated.
Inadequate health care infrastructure, including a lack of well-equipped health facilities and trained health care professionals, contributes to delays in accessing emergency obstetric care, increasing the likelihood of obstetric fistula.
According to ECOWAS, the support programme has three components, namely, prevention through awareness creation and information; medical care through reconstructive surgery; and socio-economic reintegration of rehabilitated women.
Source: ECOWAS
Photo source: MSF