A project, USAID Momentum Safe Surgery in Family Planning and Obstetrics, has called on journalists to ensure increased public awareness on Fistula, unsafe surgeries and other poor reproductive health habits.
It said the reports were aimed at reducing fistula cases, shunning cultural norms in maternal health and promoting safe reproductive health services and others.
The Country Representative and Project Manager, Dr Kabir Atta, made the call in his address during an engagement meeting with members of Sokoto state Correspondents chapel, Directors from Sokoto State Ministry of Information, Local Government Information Officers, and Hospital Public Relations Officers in Sokoto.
Atta, who underscored the importance of media on sensitizing people noting cases of fistula, unsafe surgeries, Female Gentile Mutilation (FGM), harmful practices and other poor reproduction health practices needed increased attention in Nigeria.
He said maternal and child mortality rates need collective concern from stakeholders as well as changing the poor peoples’ attitudes and perceptions toward accessing the right healthcare services along with the availability of standard health facilities in Nigerian communities.
He explained that the project was launched in June 2021 hoping to end by Sept. 2025 with budgetary support of 10 million US Dollars.
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According to him, the project focus on surgical obstetrics care, safe and appropriate cesarean delivery and peripartum hysterectomy along with FGM prevention and management.
He noted that the activities are in partnership with the Federal Government and States ministries of health in focus areas that comprised Ebonyi, Bauchi, FCT, Kebbi and Sokoto States.
Atta said the project is geared to ensure adequate knowledge on health services, harmful social and gender norms, lack of trust in the health system, financial and geographic obstacles and poor linkages to facilities.
“It was also to enlighten people on the existing gabs, insufficient staff, lack of skills ad support provider bias, fear of blame, disincentives for appropriate care, infrastructure, equipment and supply gaps, lack of process for respective quality care,” Attack said.
He urged Journalists to facilitate the adequate provision of resources, provision of evidence-based guidance, adequate data provision and to highlight the absence of compensations.
The Country Representative added that the project would also strive toward facilitating referrals system, need to support and scale best practices, lack of private sector engagement and need for increased collaboration with civil society.
He further explained that it was built upon the five year National Surgical, Obstetrics, Anaesthetic and Nursing Plan (NSOANP), a strategic priority for surgical care intended to provide a realistic assessment and situation analysis of the states of surgical care in Nigeria.
He stressed that the plan help in proving a clear road map of implementation and evaluation mechanism toward harnessing emergency access to surgical care by people.
According to him, the vision was to have a national healthcare system that is responsive to all surgical needs of all citizens at all times.
“Overall efforts is to integrate surgical, obstetrics, anaesthetic and nursing care into national healthcare system so that appropriate surgical care is provided to all adults and children at all levels,” the Country Director said.
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USAID tasks journalists to increase public awareness on Fistula
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