The ECWA Evangel VVF Centre has conducted over 227 free surgical operations for women and girls with Vesico Virginal Fistula (VVF) in Taraba and Gombe states.
Project Coordinator for the Comprehensive Women’s Health Project at the centre, Professor Sunday Lengmang, 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 330 cases.
He said the centre was also anchoring mentorship programme 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.
Mr Rita Denise, a beneficiary who contracted the disease 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 before the operation on her.
Our correspondent reports that the ECWA Evangel VVF Centre is currently the only centre in Nigeria providing urinary diversion surgery for inoperable fistula and other essential fistula-related treatment.