The Vesicovaginal Fistula (VVF) Centre of the Envagel Teaching Hospital, Jos, has treated 12,000 patients in the last 20 years, its Director, Associate Prof. Sunday Lengmang, said on Sunday in Jos.
He made the disclosure in Jos at the annual reunion ceremony it organised for former patients.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that VVF is an abnormal opening between the bladder and the vagina that results in continuous passage of urine.
According to Lengmang, the figure excluded those that were treated during various outreaches held in locations outside Jos.
”So far, we have treated 12,000 women who suffered from fistula in our centre since it inception.
”This excludes the number of patients we treated during our outreaches and visit to other places.
”We have visited Taraba, Kano, Gombe, Lagos, Katsina, Uyo, and other states, to treat women with these challenge,” he said.
Lengmang, however, decried the dearth of specialists in the field and called on government to invest in the training of professionals in view of the rise in cases of VVF in the country.
He also called on government to support the centre with funds, adding that majority of the patients were largely poor and could hardly afford the treatment.
”This is a lonely area with very few specialists; in Nigeria, there are only six specialists that can attend to complex cases or provide complete services in the treatment of VVF.
”Virtually all the patients we treated are poor; we are providing this treatment free.
” So, we call on government to support us with funds and invest in the training of specialists in this field of medicine,” he said.
Earlier, Prof. Stephen Anzaku, the Chief Medical Director(CMD) of the hospital, had said that the reunion brought together its former patients to connect and share experiences.
The CMD, who described the VVF centre as a unique unit in the hospital, said that the free treatment was usually carried out to put smiles on the faces of the patients.
Anzaku called on government and other individuals to support the centre to expand its operations so as to assist the rising number of patients afflicted by the illness.
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”The rising cases of VVF in the country may force us to expand the centre and improve on its facilities to accommodate more patients,” he hinted.
Sumaiya Ahamed, one of the women treated at the centre, thanked the hospital for treating her free of charge.
Ahmed, who commended the centre and the hospital in general for the humanitarian service, called on government and groups to support it to do more toward curbing VVF in the country. (NAN)
