FREETOWN, Sierra Leone, 23 May 2022- UNFPA on 23 May, joined the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) and partners including Aberdeen Women’s Center (AWC) and Haikal Foundation in commemorating the International Day to End Obstetric Fistula at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Freetown
The event, held on the theme: End Fistula Now: Invest in Quality Healthcare, Empower Communities was also used to launch the MoHS/Iceland/UNFPA partnership on ending obstetric fistula in Sierra Leone.
Speaking at the event, Deputy Representative of UNFPA, Sibeso Mululuma said, the theme for this year’s commemoration spoke to the critical role of communities in ending fistula as it (theme) also called for huge investment in healthcare delivery.
“UNFPA continues to play a critical role in the global campaign. In 2003, UNFPA and its partners launched a global Campaign to End Fistula, in line with international targets to improve maternal and newborn health and with the goal of making fistula as rare in developing countries,” Mululuma reiterated.
With the official launch of the Integrated results-based approach towards elimination of Obstetric Fistula in Sierra Leone, Mululuma, on behalf of UNFPA, appreciated the Government of the Republic of Iceland for committing seven million dollars to the campaign in the next five years through an integrated results-based approach.
Speaking on behalf of the Chief Medical Officer, Ministry of Health and Sanitation, the Director of Reproductive and Child Health, Tom Sesay recognized UNFPA’s intervention through MoHS, AWC and Haikal Foundation. The Iceland funded five-year programme, he said, will lead to a transformative change in the prevention, treatment, and social re-integration of fistula survivors.
Speaking at the same event, David Baimeson, Iceland’s Director of Bilateral Cooperation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, their support to the country through UNFPA will target women with the condition by providing them with prevention, care, treatment and reintegration support over the next five years.
Also speaking at the event were the Permanent Secretary MoHS, Morrie Momoh, fistula survivors, Paramount Chief Magret Baio-Gbanie of Valunia Chiefdom, Bo district and Francis Moses, among others.
For more information, contact:
John Baimba Sesay
Web and Media Analyst
Email: jsesay@unfpa.org
Tel: +232 30953193
