Akwa Ibom Women Initiative (AIWA) based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, has presented medical equipment to two health facilities in the state.
Benefiting health facilities are Cottage Hospital, Okoroete in Eastern Obolo local government area which received medical facilities worth over N2 million to equip the Maternity Unit of the Hospital and Visco-Vaginal Fistula (VVF) hospital group also made a cash donation of N350,000 to Visco-Vaginal Fistula (VVF) Hospital, Uyo, the state capital.
Presenting the cash to the VVF hospital, a founding member of AIWA, Umo Ekanem, said the women were delighted to be associated with the humanitarian work done at the Centre.
Ekanem said that the group would continue to support the Centre to meet the needs of the less privileged especially women facing life threatening condition like Visco-Vaginal Fistula and Recto-Vaginal Fistula.
She commended the management of the VVF centre for the care and specialised treatment given to the women, whose organs had been damaged during prolonged obstructed labour in childbirth leading to leakage of urine and faeces.
Responding, the Matron in-Charge of the Family Life Centre/VVF Hospital, Sylvia Ndubuaka, thanked the women group for supporting the centre in the care for the less privileged.
She noted that the gesture was the second time the Centre had received the support from the group.
“We are happy, when we get help, we are faith-based organisation (FBO). In 2019, the Akwa Ibom State Government pulled out its staff members that used to work here.
“We treat people free of charge especially those who do not have any help, sometimes these women are abandoned because of leakage of urine and faeces,” Ndubuaka said.
Ndubuaka said that the Centre usually carried out surgeries and reconstructed damaged vaginal tracts and bladder in women in addition to provision of skills for them after treatment.
At the Cottage Hospital, Okoroete, the AIWA representative, Nsekpong Udoh, said that the medical facilities donated were items identified as lacking in the Maternity Unit during need assessment carried by AIWA some time ago in the hospital.
She expressed the hope that the items would be used judiciously by the hospital to give women who are expectant mothers succour and also reduce incidents of infant and maternal death.
Receiving the medical items on behalf of management, the Hospital Secretary, Edward Josiah, thanked the women for their kind gesture.
Josiah said that the hospital was delighted to receive the facilities to help equip the maternity unit and preserve life in the area.
ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo
