Despite global efforts by various countries at providing efficient, good quality and affordable reproductive health care to all citizens, maternal health care-related complications are still on the increase. One of these complications is Obstetric Fistula, which takes a heavy toll on women in the society, with many experiencing adverse social and medical consequences.
Cognisant of the adverse effects of maternal healthcare-related complications, the Africa Centre of Excellence in Reproductive Health and Innovation (CERHI) of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), recently sponsored one of its PhD students, JainabaSey-Sawo, to the first International Conference on Reproductive Health, held at the Kenyatta University Conference Centre-Nairobi, Kenya.
The three-day Conference with the theme “Ending Obstetric Fistula in a Generation” was organised by the School of Public Health, Kenyatta University and was aimed at exchanging and documenting information on how to end Obstetric Fistula in contemporary society, providing a forum for networkof people involved in fistula prevention and management as well as facilitating future policy action programme.
While Obstetric Fistula has been virtually eradicated in the developed world, due to improved medical care, it is estimated that at least two million women and young girls suffer from Obstetric Fistula,particularly those living in poverty, in developing countries, across sub-Saharan Africa. There are fears that prevalence figures may be much higher, though, considering the fact that many of the affected women live in isolation and never seek medical or psychological help.
The Conference was broken down into four sub-themes, namely: Best Practices and Model of Training Workers in Fistula Management; Community Engagement; Tracking of Fistula Survivors; as well as Research, Advocacy, Policy and Legal Framework.
Dignitaries at the Conference included the first lady of Kenya, Her Excellency, Margaret Kenyatta.Participants were drawn from Pakistan, UK, Somaliland, Canada, Nigeria, Kenya Ministry of Health, UNFPA and AMREF, Kenya, among others. Other participants included health practitioners, lecturers from other Kenyan universities and postgraduate students.
Papers presented at the Conference included that by CERHI’s JainabaSey-Sawo, on “Trend and Indications of Caesarean Section in an Urban Tertiary Health Facility, The Gambia.”