MTN Foundation supports treatment against obstetrical fistula in Cameroon
The MTN Foundation, first corporate foundation created in Cameroon, announces the launching of a campaign to treat obstetrical fistula in the Greater North of Cameroon. The Sub-Director of Reproductive Health at the Ministry of Public Health, Dr Moluh Seidou inaugurated the campaign at the Protestant Hospital of Ngaoundere. The operations planned for 7 to 11 August 2017 shall be carried out in this health institution thanks to the partnership between the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and MTN Foundation.
Obstetrical fistula is a damage generally caused by a prolonged and difficult delivery. Of all pregnancy related infirmities, obstetrical fistula is the most devastating. Women suffering from this illness are often ostracised by their families and stigmatized by society. On the occasion of this campaign, over thirty women shall be operated upon, free of charge. These women originate from the Far North, North and Adamawa. They will also be entirely taken care of, in terms of displacement, accommodation, health care as well as psychological and socio-economic assistance.
Thereafter, they can get back to normal life in society just as the more than one hundred others, treated for same ailment during the first phase of this campaign launched in June, 2014. The second phase targets 55 women, with 20 of them having already undergone fistula operation.
In view of enhancing the awareness on this matter, media houses of the Adamawa region participated in a workshop organized on 7, August 2017 by the MTN Foundation at the Regional Delegation of Public Health. Obstetrical fistula was at the centre of discussion thanks to health experts, UNFPA, the Ministries of Public Health as well as the Promotion of Women and the Family.
The treatment of obstetrical fistula is one of the areas of the innovative partnership signed in November 2013 between the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and MTN Foundation to rollback maternal mortality in Cameroon. This partnership equally involves equipping 03 midwifery schools in Bamenda, Garoua and Yaounde, as well as refurbishing maternities in the East, North and Far North regions.
