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By Bashir Bello, KANO

The Federal Government through the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disasters Management and Social Development have trained and empowered not fewer than fifty (50) Vesico-Vaginal Fistula, VVF patients in Kano State.

The patients who had already undergone surgery were trained in various skills such as Fish farming, Groundnut oil extraction, Tailoring, Soap making, Vaseline making among others and were empowered with starter packs of N30,000 each to startup or support their businesses.

Speaking during the economic Empowerment/Pyscho-social support, the Minister, Sadiya Umar Faruoq said the empowerment became imperative as it is that some of the women have been abandoned by their husbands hence the need to support them with self-sustaining skills to strengthen their capacity to care for themselves and reintegrate them into the society.

The Minister represented by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr. Nasir Sani-Gwarzo called on the beneficiaries to tap from the opportunities in the training in order to be self dependent and become employers of labour.

According to her, “As you may be aware, VVF is an abnormal communication between the epithelium of the bladder and vagina. It is very unpleasant experience for the patients, and it is considered as one of the most dehumanizing conditions that affect women, who often experience a lot of social problems.

“In Nigeria, VVF is a serious reproductive health problem for women. It occurs because of obstruction during childbirth, leading to tissue damage and the typical clinical presentation of continuous leakage of either urine or faeces or both of them through the vagina.

“It is estimated that Nigeria accounts for 40% of the worldwide Fistula prevalence with approximately 20,000 new cases occuring each year, although recent studies put estimates at approximately 12,000 new cases per year. Complications of pregnancy and delivery are the main causes of obsteric Fistula. VVF is rare in the developed world but remains a public health problem in developing countries. This condition is much more prevalent in Northern Nigeria than Southern Nigeria where it is estimated that more than 150,000 unrepaired fistula still exist.

“VVF is a problem of under-development with too many consequences, even calamitous ones. The best way to address the problem is putting in place appropriate integrated development programmes that are sustainable and community based. Such approaches should be ones that will strengthen the local capacity available to women to improve their health and social environment through the implementation of coordinated model programmes.

“The training session is targeted at the socio-economic reintegration of the women who have undergone fistula repair surgeries, especially those whose husbands abandoned them as a result of their medical condition. The majority of these VVF survivors are peasants, petty traders and housewives who have difficulty supporting themselves let alone their families. The situation becomes even more complicated when they are abandoned by their husbands and family members.

“We believe equipping the women with self-sustaining skills can strengthen their capacity to care for themselves with a view to helping them reclaim their lives and return to their communities with pride and independence after treatment. The vocational training given to the survivors will help them to start income generating activities to support and encourage their economic stability and resilience,” the Minister, Sadiya Umar Faruoq however stated.

Earlier, the Commissioner of Women Affairs, Dr. Zahra’u Muhammad represented by her Director, Mariya Hodi commended the foresight of the Ministry for the gesture which she described as live changing opportunity if beneficiaries tapped the potentials.