On Wednesday, the First Lady, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, launched a partnership with the Unit­ed Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA) to end obstetric fistula (OBF) in the country.

Obstetric fistula is a medical condition that develops in a woman’s bladder as a result of prolonged obstructed labour.

The collaborative effort is a seven-year campaign until 2030, which seeks to garner the public sector, the United Nations (UN), the private sector, NGOs, community actors, and individuals to strengthen and strength­ening routine fistula repair in hospitals.

The partnership will explore the socio-economic reintegration of fistula survivors into the community.

Speaking at the launch at Korle-Bu Teach­ing Hospital in Accra, Mrs. Akufo-Addo said the partnership had mobilised resources for about 200 cases to be repaired in 2023.

That, she said, was a surge from the yearly 100 repaired cases.

She disclosed that her office had already committed to the partner­ship and had already contributed to an initial seed money to repair 20 cases this year.

“Those who develop fistula can be repaired through surgery, this means much needs to be done to bridge the gap between current fistula repairs and actual numbers of women who suffer with fistula,” she emphasised.

She said there was some good news to give hope to women and families, that good health care during pregnancy could prevent fistula.

She urged other organisations and philanthropists to get on board and fight against obstetrics fistula.

The Country Representative of UNFPA Ghana, Dr Wilfred Ochan, on his part expressed delight at the commitment of the First Lady and other partners and called for the support of all relevant stakeholders in making the campaign a sustainable and successful one.

“Today marks another giant stride towards our agenda to eliminate this troubling situation of obstetric fistula among women. We at UNFPA Ghana want to express our sincerest gratitude to the First Lady of this country for her com­mitment to ensuring that the fight to eliminate this case has been won. The dignity and health of women should be the concern of all and sundry,” he stated.

He added that it was only through an integrated and collab­orative approach that the battle could be won against the canker, thus restoring the lost smiles on the faces of women who went through inconveniences.

The chairman of National Fistula Task Force, Dr Gabriel Ganyaglo, said inasmuch as end­less efforts were being made to end OBF, some challenges needed to be attended to.

These challenges, he mentioned were women who failed to visit health centres due to inadequate beds and supply of food, although the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) covers that.

Others in the Partnership for Elimination of Fistula in Ghana (PEFIG) include the World Food Programme, Access Bank, MTN, Fidelity Bank, AT Telecommu­nications, Ghana Health Service, National Population Council, and Media and Communications Ad­vocacy Network (MCAN).