Liberia’s Ministry of Health and Phebe Hospital with support from UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund have launched a campaign to treat women and girls with fistula in Liberia.
Fistula is an injury caused to pregnant women and girls who remained in labor for a long time without the help of a skilled birth attendant. It causes these women to leak urine or feces (peepee or poopoo).
A team of local and expatriate medical doctors including Dr. Ambereen Sleemi from the US-based International Medical Response (IMR) is treating more than 40 women and girls with fistula at the Phebe Hospital in Suaccoco, Bong County.
According to the Medical Director of Phebe Hospital, Dr. Jefferson Sibley, these fistula survivors have come from all parts of the country.
Speaking on Thursday at the launch of the campaign in Phebe, Bong County, Health Minister, Dr. Wilhelmina Jallah said the Government of Liberia was committed to ending obstetric fistula by 2030.
Dr. Jallah called on all stakeholders in the campaign to end obstetric fistula to remain engaged with the Ministry of Health to ensure the reality of this commitment.
She stressed the need to continue the comprehensive support to fistula survivors in the country as it was done in the past. This support include surgery, rehabilitation through psychosocial counselling and skills training as well as social reintegration.
For his part, UNFPA Liberia Country Representative Dr. Bannet Ndyanabangi said, “women with fistula endure enormous psychological and social trauma; therefore, empowering them to reclaim their place in society is a major goal of the UNFPA End Fistula Campaign”.
According to him, ending fistula can be a reality. ”The key to ending fistula is to prevent it from happening in the first place. The prevention of fistula is only possible when women have access to quality maternal health care services, including family planning, skilled attendance at the birth of their babies and emergency obstetric care,” The UNFPA Liberia Country Representative said.
He reaffirmed UNFPA’s commitment to continue supporting the Ministry of Health its efforts to strengthen the maternal and newborn health system of Liberia.
Dr. Bannet called for the reawakening of the partnership that saw to the repair of more than 1850 fistula survivors between 2009 and early 2019.
He used the occasion to thank the European Union and the United Nations for the launch of the Spotlight Initiative, which is funding the fistula repair campaign.
The Spotlight Initiative is a global, multi-year partnership between the European Union and the United Nations to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls.