By Nduka Val…
The Commissioner for Health in Imo State, Dr. Chioma Egu, has commended Good Hope Women Flourish Initiative and its founder, Barr. Mrs. Chioma Uzodimma, for inaugurating a body known as Women Community Activation Network(W-CAN) in the State, with a view to championing a serious fight against Female Genital Mutilation in various communities through the assistance of traditional rulers’ wives and other female health workers, including nurses.
Mrs. Egu who recently gave the commendation in Owerri while speaking to some journalists at the event, described
FGM as a very harmful practice that is currently existing in some of the communities of the state and should be fully eradicated through creation of awareness for the women leaders, stakeholders, wives of the traditional rulers, religious leaders and health workers, who are regularly in contact with the grassroots.
She added that in a short while an FGM programme will be kickstarted in various Schools of Nursing in the state to integrate courses that will help health workers to know how to go against the practice of FGM by effectively educating their patients and clients about it.
The health commissioner disclosed that the said programme is being powered by the Ministry of Women Affairs in partnership with the Ministries of Health and Justice to achieve the expected result.
Egu equally asserted that a Taskforce or an Enforcement Committee has been constituted by her ministry and the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) to partner with Primary Health Care Development Agency workers in fishing out some of the health workers and birth attendants perpetrating FGM in the rural areas, stressing that some pregnant mothers prefer giving birth at the traditional birth attendants’ homes to giving birth at their respective health centres, even after undergoing their individual antenatal services therein.
She frowned at a situation where many pregnant mothers keep patronizing birth attendants’ homes where Female Genital Mutilation is highly carried out with an unnecessary reasons that their grand-mothers, mothers-in-law and their mothers gave birth through same channel and practice, warning that any health worker found to be rendering any assistance for such an ugly FGM practice must be punished accordingly.
Dr. mrs. Egu applauded governor’s wife’s unwavering and unrelenting commitment in making sure that FGM and other health related matters affecting girls and women in the state are adequately curbed, noting that she has put in much in that regard.
It could be recalled that other major partners in the eradication struggle against FGM in communities, such as UNFPA, UNICEF and others were unfolded at the event.
The inauguration exercise attracted a good number of the wives of traditional rulers, Council Chairpersons, female heads of establishments, female physically challenged persons, female security officers and the commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Nkechi Ugwu.
