Family planning can be solution to VVF – experts

The Challenge Initiative (TCI) Programme Coordinator in Delta state, Mrs. Nwanne Kalu, says adopting family planning can be a solution to Vesicovaginal fistula (VVF) challenge in Nigeria.

Kalu said this at the opening of the 3-day training workshop on media advocacy on family planning in Asaba on Monday.

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The workshop is sponsored by the Delta state government and supported by TCI and Development Communications (DevComs) Network.

Vesicovaginal fistula commonly called VVF is an abnormal fistulous tract extension between the bladder (vesica) and the vagina which allows continuous and involuntary discharge of urine into the vaginal vault.

She said since VVF occurred due to early childbirth by teenage mothers, adopting family planning would protect young women from becoming pregnant, until their systems were fully developed to give birth without complications.

According to her, VVF occurs due to early childbirth by teenagers from about age 13.

“The most common cause of vesicovaginal fistula is obstructed labour, early marriage, poverty and women’s limited control over the use of family resources.

“Women and girls with this disability are often abandoned by their husbands and isolated from the community due to the smell and shame associated with urine leakage,’’ she said.

Kalu said that since tradition allows early marriages, such traditions should provide protection for the young mothers and the children to enable them to live a healthy and comfortable life as a family.

The programme coordinator said that as mothers, women have the right to life, whether as a married or a single mother.

Head of Reproductive Health, Delta state Primary Health Care Agency, Mrs. Patience Eke, said the target of the state is to achieve 100 per cent indices on family planning yearly.

Eke tasked the media on advocacy and awareness creation to ensure that all parents were informed on how to take proper care of their children.

She said children should be properly spaced out to enable the woman’s womb to heal properly before giving birth to another and to ensure both the mother and the children lived a healthy life.