Director-Common of the Nationwide Well being Insurance coverage Authority (NHIA), Dr. Kelechi Ohiri has disclosed that about 13,000 girls in Nigeria come down with obstetric fistula annually.
Dr Ohiri additionally revealed that there’s a enormous backlog of unrepaired obstetric fistula circumstances within the nation, saying it’d take as much as 83 years to shut the backlog.
The DG disclosed this through the flag off of the NHIA Fistula-Free Intervention and inauguration of Steering Committee for the programme by the Coordinating Minister of Well being and Social Welfare, Prof. Mohammed Ali Pate on Tuesday in Abuja.
He mentioned Nigeria accounts for 7.5 p.c of the 2 million individuals dwelling with unrepaired obstetric fistula globally.
“Globally, roughly two million individuals dwell with unrepaired obstetric fistula. Roughly, a million are in creating international locations and about 100,000 affected by offsetting slavery.
“Right here in Nigeria, we account for about 7.5 p.c of that quantity. Now we have roughly 13,000 new circumstances annually and given the backlog due to lack of economic entry. On the present price, if we don’t intervene, it’d take as much as 83 years to really shut the backlog,” he mentioned.
Obstetric fistula is a complication, inflicting an irregular gap between the bladder and vagina which leads to uncontrolled, steady leakage of urine by means of the vagina.
Ohiri mentioned that the position of the NHIA by means of the susceptible group fund is to make sure that the definitive care remedies for these girls are inexpensive, including that the goal can also be to cut back bodily and monetary ache.
He mentioned the intervention falls inside the pillar of fairness, which is among the many NHIA’s 4 pillars of focus and of protection of fairness and effectivity.
“And inside the pillar of fairness is the place that is located, the place we’re trying on the design of the susceptible fund to prioritise fairness and improve security nets for the poor and susceptible.
“The primary section we intend to begin with the Nationwide Obstetric Fistula Centres. There are 4 of them within the nation: Katsina, Bauchi, Ebonyi and Edo. And within the second section of this, we hope to broaden it to different hospitals that present fistula care however should not essentially designated for fistula care solely.
“Past the remedies, the plan can also be to make sure that they’re enrolled right into a social medical health insurance programme that can cater to them in order that we are able to construct sustainability to the outcomes that now we have achieved,” he defined.
Earlier, the Coordinating Miinister of Well being and Social Welfare, Prof. Pate, counseled the NHIA for the programme which is about affordability of care for ladies who are suffering from the implications of childbirth, resulting in fistula.
The minister famous that the nation has a burden of maternal morbidity and mortality, saying “Whenever you go all around the nation, you see plenty of younger lady, adolescents, lady who for one purpose or the opposite, had intensive care or typically normal care, come to ship and have problems. However after they have fistula, they are typically left behind.”