The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, has said that the Federal Government would establish three more obstetric fistula hospitals by2017 to end the cases in the country.
Director Media and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Health, MrsBoade Akinola, said this in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja.
According to the statement, Prof. Adewole said this at the 6th International Conference of International Society on Obstetric Fistula Surgeon (ISOFS) that took place in Abuja recently.
Obstetric fistula (or vaginal fistula) is a medical condition in whicha hole develops between the rectum and vagina or between the bladder and vagina after severe or failed childbirth, when adequate medical care is not available.
The statement said that the fistula hospitals would be located in Ibadan, Oyo state; Ilorin, Kwara and Port Harcourt, Rivers.
It quoted the minister as saying that the project was part of Federal Government’s contributions towards eradicating such cases in the country. The statement disclosed that the ministry had earlier established three dedicated fistula hospitals in the country that are located in Abakaliki in Ebonyi, Baba Ruga in Katsina State and Ningi in Bauchi State.
It also identified education and poverty as being critical to ending cases of obstetric fistula.
“It is not enough to keep on repairing fistula; we should do everything possible to stop all new cases of obstetric fistula in Nigeria. We need to tackle the root causes by addressing education and poverty.
“When a woman is educated, she will understand what it means to have a child and understand what it means to seek for medical care when things are not going well,” the statement quoted Adewole as saying.
It said that when people were educated and had the resources, they could live and eat well, as well as attend to issues that affected their health.
