Northern Nigerian women neglect use of health centres during pregnancy – UNFPA

The United Nations Population Funds (UNFPA0 has decried that about 80 per cent of women in northern do not patronize public health centres during pregnancy, which the Funds said has attendant consequences.
It is remarkable that Obstetric Fistula has been identified as one of the challenges responsible for high maternal mortality in Nigeria. The Canadian High Commission in conjunction with the United Nations Population Funds (UNFPA) made the revelation in Sokoto at the Fistula Repair Centre, while supporting the fistula repair surgery which over 30 women were beneficiaries in the state.
A World Health Organisation report shows that over 100,000 women across the globe are affected by obstetric fistula annually.
Obstetric fistula is an abnormal opening between a woman’s genital tract and her urinary track or rectum. It is directly linked to one of the major causes of maternal mortality and women who experience obstetric fistula suffer constant incontinence, shame, social segregation and health problems
Head of Nigeria Office UNPFA, Mariama Darbo, expressed concerns that “over 80 per cent of women in northern Nigeria do not attend health centres during pregnancy> she warned łthat, “This has to change in order to improve maternal health in the country.”
The commissioner for Health in Sokoto State, Dr. Ali Mohammed Inname Sokoto, disclosed the state government’s commitment to combating the prevalence of the condition through valuable partnership with relevant development partners
Records show that an estimated two million young women live with untreated obstetric fistula in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. It has been suggested that this can be avoided through delaying the age of first pregnancy, cessation of harmful traditional practices and timely access to obstetric care among others.