Abuja – Ms Ratidzai Ndhlovu, the Country Representative, UN Population Fund (UNFPA), on Thursday said teenage pregnancy was a direct cause of Fistula in the country.
Ndhlovu disclosed this while fielding questions at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja.
According to her, most young girls are committed to sexual activities and child bearing at an early age leading to the condition.
“Looking at statistics of fistula in this country, we have a lot of young girls getting pregnant at a very tender age, which has caused Nigeria to have the highest burden of fistula.
“We also need family planning, even when people say it is not good because lack of it is killing people, for me not using contraception to wait until it is ripe for one to have a child is killing people.
“Fistula is killing so many women in the country, our wives and children are dying every day and motherhood is important to every family,’’ she said.
However, Ndhlovu advised men who are married to teenage spouses to ensure that the young girls are fully matured and educated to withstand pregnancy and complication that may arise during child birth.
“I will like a situation where even when the men marry their wives at 16 years old, they should ensure they go on with their education.
“They should also be matured enough before engaging in sexual activities so that they can handle pregnancy and child birth to prevent fistula from occurring,’’ she said.
She decried the laxity of some governments investing in midwifery, family planning and teenage pregnancy in the country further, urging all level of government to commit more resources on prevention models.
“We pretend that everything is normal; these are human beings whose families would continue to suffer because they have no mother, fistula is curable and a preventable condition.
“The government needs to invest in family planning, even when people said it is not good, this is because lack of it is killing our girls and women.
“When people do not use contraception to wait until it is ripe for one to have a child, such an act is killing people, so we urge the government do more,’’ she added.
Ndhlovu stated that not less than 111 women die from child birth every day in Nigeria according to the National Maternal Mortality Ratio.
She further called on the government to invest in the lives of the Nigerian woman and the education of the girl child by committing more resources to eradicate fistula in the country. (NAN)