The North-East Development Commission (NEDC) on Tuesday said it is planning to build two Vesicovaginal Fistula (VVF) centres in the northeast to handle the increasing cases of obstetric fistula among women in the zone.
The Chairman, NEDC Governing Council, Maj Gen Paul Tarfa (Rtd) disclosed this during the flag-off of the campaign for the repair of 100 women suffering from VVF in Maiduguri, Borno State.
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Tarfa, who was represented by an NEDC board member, Hajiya Asmau Mai-Eka Muhammadu, attributed the rising cases of VVF to Boko Haram insurgency ravaging the zone.
“Statistics indicate that there about 250,000 women awaiting repair in Nigeria, out of which only 3000 are fortunate to be attended to annually.
“12,000 new cases develop every year with a large number coming from the northeast due to the insecurity and increased poverty which further hindered access to health care,” he said.
The Managing Director, NEDC, Mohammed Goni Alkali, said the VVF surgery would be conducted by nine surgeons drawn from various countries across the world.
In their separate testimonies, the beneficiaries, Hajiya Hadiza and Hajiya Zara, said their husbands divorced them due to their condition. This, they said, compounded their problems having lost their parents to the Boko Haram onslaught.
