By Bashir Bello

No fewer than 150 Vesico Vaginal Fistula, VVF patients and survivors in Murtala Muhammad specialist hospital in Kano State have been provided with succour by the First Bank Nigeria Limited.

The bank is sponsoring the surgery of 50 VVF patients and subsequently empower them alongside another set of 100 who are at recovery stage to start up micro businesses in order to become self reliant and aid their reintegration back to the society.

The Bank’s Executive Director, Public Sector, Abdullahi Ibrahim announced this in Kano during the Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF) Obsteric Fistula Medical Surgery and empowerment Intervention, one of the activities embarked upon to commemorate the Bank’s annual CRS Week.

Ibrahim said the intervention became imperative particularly that financial inclusion and women empowerment were areas of focus of the bank.

According to him, “VVF is one of such health challenges that must be paid attention to. We at First Bank, are particular about financial inclusion and women empowerment and that is why we must do our best to collaborate with the health sector to tackle VVF.

“As part of it’s Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, First Bank Nigeria Ltd which is the premier bank in Nigeria and West Africa has planned in collaboration with Ministry of Health to support the surgery of 50 VVF patients here at the Murtala Muhammad specialist hospital. And subsequently, to empower them with vocational tools to aid their reintegration back into the society.

“Similarly, we also plan to empower another set of 100 women who have undergone surgery to set up micro businesses to support themselves and families,” Ibrahim said.

Earlier, Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje who noted that Northern Nigeria accounts for 75% of VVF cases in the country while commending the bank for the kind gesture which he said will also go a long way in helping the patients and survivors to reclaim their lives and to return to their communities with confidence.

Ganduje represented by the Commissioner of Women Affairs and Social Development, Zahra’u Muhammad reiterated the government’s commitment to providing a lot of welfare packages to VVF patients in the state while calling on beneficiaries to judiciously put to use items distributed to them.

“This program which aimed at equipping women who undergone fistula repairs with a self-sustaining businesses that can strengthen their capacity to care for themselves is really a commendable effort at this very critical time of economic hardship,” Ganduje noted.