Worried by the potential health risks of endometriosis, a health expert recently called for the education of women and young girls in Nigeria about the condition and the dangers it heralds.
Harping on the significance of continually raising awareness about the painful disorder, he said it affects between 10-15 percent of women within reproductive age (11-50yrs) worldwide, that is about 200 million women and reducing their quality of life.
Abayomi Ajayi, managing director, Nordica Fertility Centre, said the condition is believed to be the cause of infertility in about 30-40 percent of couples with fertility problems in Nigeria.
While endometriosis is a common condition, it is complex and often misunderstood as it reduces the quality of life in women because of pain.
Read Also: Nigeria administers first COVID-19 vaccine to frontline health workers
Summarising 2021 ESGN Awareness Activities at a media briefing, Ajayi said the 2021 Endometriosis Awareness and Advocacy Campaign involves various activities aimed at enlightening the general public on the condition called Endometriosis.
Endometriosis has no cure, and can potentially cause incapacitating pain, organ damage, infertility, and other severe and sometimes life-threatening medical consequences if inadequately managed.
It occurs when the tissue that normally lines the uterus, called the endometrium, starts to grow elsewhere in the body. These growths may cause pain, scarring, and, in some instances, infertility.
The impact of Endometriosis on the individual, family, business, and the nation is said to be of grave importance to us because someone who suffers from endometriosis could fall into depression because they find it difficult to manage the pains and relationships too are likely to suffer, even at workplaces, hence the need for this understanding of the pains in endometriosis.
“Endometriosis affects people in all their life activities, even young girls cannot go to school,” he said.
Abayomi said that the first week of March is Endometriosis Awareness Week with the theme ‘Sisters’ Converge: An Endometriosis Conversation’
The objective is to promote the understanding of endometriosis as a real, debilitating, and disabling disease, highlighting the consequences of living with endometriosis for the sufferer, carer, and all those affected by the disease.
Since 2005, the ESGN has carried out various advocacy initiatives in Nigeria and continues to push for the enlightenment of this condition; proper training of medical personnel to properly diagnose this condition, and commitment to research that will bring about a cure for endometriosis.
This year’s event will feature the annual ESGN Endometriosis Essay Competition for Secondary School Students, which is currently in its 6th year and aimed at creating awareness among adolescents by encouraging the students to research and write essays on various topics related to endometriosis.
The topic for this year’s competition is ‘Challenges of Living with Endometriosis’ and will run till the 5th of March 2021. It will also feature Sisters’ Converge Video Entry into the World Endo March 2021 Event.
According to Ajayi, Nigeria, through the ESGN, is a member of the global awareness coalition called World Endo March.
He noted that this year, the global body has requested that each member country present a 30-minute video entry which will be showcased on Friday 26th of March, 2021 to a global audience.
“Sisters’ Converge: An Endometriosis Conversation” – An online event slated for March 8, 2021, in commemoration of International Women’s Day. The event will feature a distinguished panel of discussants, specialists on the subject matter as well as women living with Endometriosis.
“We believe that with your support, we will be able to achieve our aim of creating awareness about this condition, and providing succor to those suffering from it,” he said.
