“Identification of Fistula Cases has been our major challenge” – Government Official
Dr. Ambe Lionel has expressed gratitude to the CBC Health Services for championing the course of identification, referral, and treatment of women suffering from Fistula. The representative of the NW Regional Delegate of Health made the appraisal, on October 25, 2023, while opening a two-day workshop for the training of nurses, midwives, and doctors on the identification, referral, and treatment of Fistula. The workshop was held at the chapel hall of Nkwen Baptist Hospital in Bamenda.
Dr. Ambe Lionel challenged the over 50 nurses and midwives from almost all the health districts in the NW region to take the training seriously and fill the identification gap of women with Fistula in the communities, which according to him, has been the Ministry of Health’s major challenge. The public health expert sounded the same appeal to doctors from nine health districts who came on the second day, October 26, 2023, for a similar training.
Speaking earlier, the Deputy Director of Health Services for Finance and Administration, DDAF, Denis Warri highlighted that recent studies show that there are lots of Fistula cases in the communities but the challenge is how to identify them since it is a condition associated with shame and stigma. The DDAF thanked the NW Regional Delegation of Health in particular and the Ministry of Health by extension for supporting the CBC Health Services in the partnership to provide quality healthcare to Cameroonians.
The DDAF also thanked Hope and Healing International Canada for funding the Socio-Economic Empowerment of Females with Fistula (SEEFF) project via the CBCHS Socio-Economic Empowerment of Services with People with Disabilities (SEEPD) to benefit women suffering from Obstetric Fistula. On this premise, the DDAF urged the nurses and midwives to find these women through sensitization and screening and bring them to care.
The workshop participants came from government and confessional health facilities in far-off places like Nwa, Ako, Misaje, Nkambe, Ndu, Benakuma, Bui, Boyo, Momo, Santa, Bamenda, etc.