report of the rapid assessment of vesico-vaginal fistulae in nigeria

general hospitals that operate on many VVF patients are General HospitalHadejia and Gambo Sawaba government Hospital Kofan Gayan Zaria.In recognition of the magnitude of the VVF problem in Kano and other parts ofthe country, the National Council of Women’s Societies, Kano state branch,organised the first national workshop on VVF in July 1990 funded by the fordfoundation. The workshop was aimed at sensitising traditional leaders, NGOsand governmental agencies on issues relating to VVF and encouraging them towork together to devise strategies on how to control and prevent the problem.At the end of the workshop, it was decided that a National Task Force on VVFshould be formed to effect the recommendations contained in the communiqué.The National task force was formed with Mrs. Amina E. Sambo as Nationalcoordinator and Dr. Clara L. Ejembi as secretary. The body was inaugurated bythe then Honourable Minister for Health and Social Services, Professor OlikoyeRansome Kuti during its maiden meeting in February 1991.The task force conducted fact finding visits to various centres across thecountry to;1) Assess the scope of VVF-related services being provided in these hospitals2) Document the level of utilisation of the VVF services and identify factors ifany, militating against optimal utilisation of these services3) Seize the opportunity afforded by these visits to sensitise various NGOs,relevant government functionaries, health workers and traditional rulers to theproblems of VVF to stimulate their interest in VVF related work.16