Stakeholders are mapping out strategies to improve fistula care to enable Nigeria to meet the 2030 global target to end the syndrome.

The stakeholders began a two-day network meeting on Monday in Abuja to provide quality prevention and management of fistula and female genital mutilation in Bauchi, Ebonyi, Kebbi and Sokoto states and the FCT.

The Federal Ministry of Health organised the meeting in collaboration with Momentum Safe Surgery in Family Planning and Obstetrics (MSSFPO) project. EngenderHealth is implementing a five-year project to improve access to safe obstetrics surgery.

Kabiru Attah, MSSFPO project manager in Nigeria, said the meeting would enable medical professionals and social workers to achieve quality and holistic fistula care for patients. He lamented the increasing number of new obstetrics fistula cases in Nigeria despite efforts to eliminate the scourge.

“We currently have more than 12,000 cases of fistula in Nigeria. If the global plan to end fistula by 2030 is examined, one would realise that Nigeria is lagging behind. There is a need for this kind of meeting so that we can review what we have done and bring relevant professionals together to address the issues,” he stated. “We will examine how to raise financial and technical resources to ensure that Nigeria meets the 2030 target to end fistula.”

Mr Attah highlighted some of the challenges affecting the set target, including coordination within the sector and migration of the medical workforce to other countries.

“Nigeria needs to begin to look inward and shift some skills to nurses; for instance, physiotherapy. Nigeria needs to quickly empower medical officers with certain skills to be able to address some of the issues surrounding fistula. Until this is done, we will continue to have fistula victims who do not have access to timely care,” he said.

Mr Attah also stressed that fistula required a holistic approach to its management.

“It requires the medical or physical aspect, physiotherapy, social welfare, and empowerment and reintegration strategies to restore the dignity of survivors. On preventive measures, we need to look at the entire health care system and examine how to empower it to provide timely care for women when they enter prolonged labour,” he said.

Tinuola Taylor, director and head of reproductive health at the Federal Ministry of Health, noted that obstetrics fistula is a big problem in Nigeria. She observed that if Nigeria could repair only 5,000 fistula cases out of 12,000 new cases recorded yearly, it would take several years to get rid of the problem.

“That is why we need to work so hard besides surgeries and repairs. We have to focus on prevention to stave off new cases. All stakeholders, including communities, traditional and religious leaders need to join hands with medical personnel to tackle the causes of obstetrics fistula,” she said.

(NAN)