In an effort to spread the word further on dangers posed by Vesicovaginal Fistula, and to help as many women as possible who have the condition, Nigerian actress, Stephanie Linus' Extended Hands Foundation, with the support of SNEPCo/NNPC, recently carried out repair surgeries on 20 women at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Nigeria.

The pooled effort was put together to bring hope and restoration to the women who had been living with this condition for varying periods, with the repair surgeries done at no cost to the women and their family members.

The Nollywood actress and producer, whose passion for touching the lives of women with this condition for many years, led her to establish the Extended Hands Foundation, was at the hospital recently as the foundation also donated surgical equipment and electrical supplies to the hospital.

Vesicovaginal Fistula (VVF) is a serious disability that can be experienced by women after childbirth. They are holes resulting from the breakdown in the tissue between the vaginal wall and the bladder or rectum caused by unrelieved obstructed labour.

The consequence of such damage is a woman’s inability to control the flow of urine or faeces. It occurs more often in young women during childbirth as their bodies are not yet mature for the process.

The exercise, which kicked off in June, has been a very successful one as the team of doctors carried out repair surgeries on 20 women whose lives had been adversely affected by this condition. Those involved say it was heartwarming to restore hope and deliver a chance of living normal lives to these women.

In attendance at the presentation event were the Chief Medical Director of UCH Ibadan, Professor Temitope Alonge; Head, Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Professor Ayo Arowojodu and the Chief Medical Consultant, Department of Genitourinary & Urogynaecology, Professor O. A. Ojengbede.

According to a 2012 report by the National Demographic Health Survey, not less than 12,000 women develop VVF every year in Nigeria with the total figure of women living with the disorder in the country put at between 160,000 and 200,000.