‘Government committed to health sensitisation campaign’

The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Hajia Alima Mahama, has given an assurance of the government’s commitment to join the health sensitisation campaign to intensify awareness about endometriosis condition among women in the country.

She expressed the government’s readiness to provide support systems for patients suffering from the condition and provide financial support to institutions that had taken up endometriosis awareness creation as a project.

Hajia Mahama gave the assurance when she addressed the second annual congress of the Fertility Society of Ghana (FERSOG) in Accra last Friday, to shed more light on the condition and its associated symptoms.

The two-day event, held on the theme: “Endometriosis — The Disease Burden,” brought together fertility specialists, nurses, students, other health professionals and members of the public.

Hajia Mahama, who was the guest of honour, said as the co-chairman of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who is also the chairman for the Gender Equality Group at the African Union, would support any move to create favourable conditions in the country to support health care, including the treatment of Endometriosis in the country.

Endometriosis

Endometriosis is a condition which the endometrial tissue (similar to the lining of the uterus or womb) grows outside the uterus and causes pelvic pain, especially associated with menstruation.

The tissue may be attached to the ovaries, fallopian tubes, exterior of the uterus, the bowel or the other internal parts.

The tissue lining the uterus (womb) is shed each month during menstruation.

According to health professionals, the exact cause of endometriosis has not been identified but some different treatment options can help manage the symptoms and improve a patient’s chances of getting pregnant.

Disease rate

The President of the FERSOG, Dr Edem K. Hiadzi,  indicated that about five to 10 per cent of women in Ghana suffered from endometriosis.

According to him, there was no cure for the disease neither was the cause found but the medical management helped to minimise or abolish all forms of pain of the disease and also prevent recurrence after surgery.

Some of the symptoms of endometriosis, Dr Hiadzi mentioned, were pain typically associated during menstruation but which most people consider as a normal menstrual pain in some form of severity.

A gynaecologist, Dr Richard Banful, in a presentation said about 10 per cent of women in their reproductive age suffered from the condition which could make some patients emit blood when they cough.