Awareness raising on Obstetric Fistula to go extensive across the North West Region
Fifty community mobilisers have been trained to identify and refer women with obstetric fistula to existing services. They were trained during a one-day workshop organized by the CBC Health Services, SEEPD Program within the context of the Obstetric Fistula Project.
The workshop took place at the Baptist Center Conference hall on May 25, 2024. It was a culmination of weeklong awareness raising activities by the CBC Health Services to mark the 2024 edition of the International Day to End Obstetric Fistula which was celebrated on the theme, “Breaking the Cycle, Preventing Fistula Worldwide”.
The objective of the workshop was to equip participants with skills to identify potential cases of fistula in girls and women and facilitate their referral to diagnostic facilities closer to their communities before referral to treatment centers.
Participants at the workshop included community health workers, chiefs of health center, community volunteers and community-based rehabilitation workers drawn from all 20 health districts in the North Region.
During the workshop, the knowledge of participants was improved on Obstetric Fistula: Causes, Impact, and Prevention, the Role of the Community in Ending Obstetric Fistula, Case identification: Process and strategies, and identifying human interest stories among others.
Welcoming the participants, the Assistant Program Manager of the SEEPD Program, Mr. Tamon James told them that they have the most important role to play to influence uptake of treatment by women with obstetric fistula as they have full mastery of their communities. He told them that knowledge gained would only be useful when they start identifying and referring women with obstetric fistula for diagnosis and treatment.
The Focal Person for Sexual and Reproductive Health at the North West Regional Delegation of Public Health, Dr. Ambe Lionel just like that of the CBC Health Services, Mr. Njodzeven Divine encouraged participants to raise awareness on obstetric fistula in all community social platforms to facilitate uptake of treatment given the devastating consequences of the condition.
Obstetric Fistula, it should be noted is a child birth injury that leaves women incontinent (uncontrollable leaking) of urine or stool through the vagina. The CBC Health Services with support from Fistula Foundation aims at treating at least 60 women of obstetric fistula by March 2025.
