The panelists at the event
Access Bank (Ghana) Plc has reiterated its continued commitment to eradicating obstetric fistula in Ghana.
In 2018, the bank launched a campaign against fistula dubbed “Fist Against Fistula” with a 10-kilometer-walk across the country to raise awareness on the debilitating condition affecting mothers after childbirth.
Underscoring the need to restore dignity to women living with the condition and reintegrate them into society, Managing Director of Access Bank (Ghana) Plc, Olumide Olatunji said, “Our strategic goal is to become a flag bearer of sustainable businesses and one of the ways we can do this is by committing resources to build an empowered and healthy citizenry that can participate meaningfully in the economic development of Ghana and Africa at large”.
Speaking at the 2024 International Day to End Obstetric Fistula (IDEOF), Head of Corporate Communications and Brand Management, Oluwaseun David-Akindele, said “Childbirth is a glorious moment and should not be marred with after-birth issues that only push women into hiding. It is now time to collaborate with a lot more stakeholders to intensify advocacy against stigma, raise awareness and attract funds to finance more surgeries for affected women and girls”.
Obstetric fistula remains one of the most devastating childbirth injuries predominantly found among women and girls living in remote communities without access to emergency obstetric care. It is estimated that globally, about 500,000 women and girls are living with fistula with new cases being recorded annually. Ghana’s statistics reveal a worrying 1,300 annual record of cases, predominantly from the Upper East, Upper West, Northern, Central and Savannah regions.
Present at the IDEOF were First Lady of the Republic of Ghana, Rebecca Akuffo Addo; the Norwegian Ambassador to Ghana, Ingrid Mollestad; and Country Representative for UNFPA, Dr Wilfred Ochan.
Partnership
The Bank has so far contributed close to 200 fistula repairs in Ghana making it the largest single contributor to the fight against Fistula. This initiative is under the Bank’s Women empowerment programme, ‘W’ initiative.
To accelerate fistula repairs and integration of women and girls affected with fistula, the Partnerships to End Obstetric Fistula in Ghana (PEFIG) was launched with Access Bank as a key member along with other notable partners including United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Office of The First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo, Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection, The Fistula Task Force, Ghana Health Service, the Media and Communication Advocacy Network (MCAN), among others.
Access Bank is spearheading the fight and involving other key stakeholders to drive its “Fist against Fistula Campaign,” as part of its larger objective to support Ghana in meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and in response to the high incidence of fistula cases in the country.
This year, under PEFIG, Access Bank Ghana will partner Chango, a crowd-funding platform to raise funds to continue to support the repairs and reintegration of women and girls affected with obstetric fistula.
Access Bank is poised to strengthen awareness creation to help eliminate stigma and intensify its fund-raising efforts and appeals to other corporate institutions to join in mobilising more domestic funds to accelerate progress towards achieving the UN goal of ending OBF by 2030.
The Access Bank Women empowerment programme, ‘W’ initiative forms a key component of Access Bank’s financial inclusion drive which makes available to women, specialized bundled products and services to support them in their quest to grow their businesses, family wellbeing, and general lifestyle goals.