There is a need for
African governments to initiate policies and programmes that will greatly
impact the lives of women with endometriosis, especially in accessing care.
This was the summary of the first post-COVID-19 African Endometriosis Support
Group Conference that was held in Lagos,
On Saturday, June 25,
2022, the African Endometriosis Awareness and Support group held its first
physical conference at the Civic Center, Lagos.
The conference had
speakers from across the world looking at different angles on the topic,
"Endometriosis: An Unrecognized Burden In African Women. This theme is
extremely relevant at this time considering the dwindling resources available
to African countries, especially in critical areas such as health care and
education.
Endometriosis is a disorder
in which tissue that normally lines the uterus grows outside the uterus. With
endometriosis, the tissue can be found on the ovaries, fallopian tubes or the
intestines. The most common symptoms are pain and menstrual irregularities.
For the women living
with this condition, life seems really unfair. The pain, the tough choices they
have to make in determining if they will have children, their sexual life,
relationship challenges and general well-being should be of grave concern to
all of us.
An endo champion,
Patricia Raymond who shared her experience revealed that she has been battling
endometriosis since the age of 14 and the condition has absolutely reshaped her life,
limiting her in so many ways.
She explained that many
doctors had diagnosed her with different wrong ailments and she had taken
different drugs that ended up complicating the condition.
There is a need for
medical doctors at government hospitals and primary healthcare centres to be
trained and be fully aware of this condition to help young girl-children live
better, she concluded.
One of the significant
challenges of endo-warriors is the fact that they remain in acute pain and
helpless too for one week in a month. So while their peers have the whole month
to live life, they only have three weeks because their menstrual period renders
them absolutely useless as a result of pains.
There were
representatives from Botswana, Ghana, South Africa, Lesotho and Nigeria. Some joined virtually while others were physically present. The
discussion was purely on how endo warriors can be supported across the
continent.
Dr Abayomi Ajayi, the
convener of Endometriosis Support Group Nigeria ESGN, was also present and he
spoke extensively on how High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) in the
management of adenomyosis. His experiences came to the fore as he provided real-life applications to questions bothering on the treatment of adenomyosis with
the aid of HIFU.
Also speaking at the
event was Linda Griffith, a professor of bio and mechanical engineering at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She delivered the keynote address. Professor Francisco Carmona from the University of Barcelona, Spain
spoke about fertility preservation in endometriosis. Professor Harold Kentel,
secretary-general of the European Endometriosis League and a professor of
obstetrics, gynaecology, oncology and serology at Bethesda Hospital, Duisburg,
Germany spoke about how to build a robust African Endometriosis Awareness
Initiative. He took vital and practicable lessons from the European league.
Other speakers are Dr
Taner Usta, who delivered a lecture on thoracic endometriosis. He is a
professor of obstetrics and gynaecology, and the president of the Turkish
Endometriosis and Adenomyosis Society, Dr Keith Isaacson of the Harvard
Medical School. He spoke about differentiating between endometriosis and
adenomyosis.
There was also Dr John
Dulemba, a former military helicopter pilot with a specialization in
endometriosis and pelvic pain. He delved into robotics in endometriosis with
video examples of some of the surgeries he had done using robots.
Significant advances
have been made globally in the diagnosis and management of the condition and
this came to the fore to an African audience at the conference. The conference
was opened to medical practitioners, women living with endometriosis, endo-activists
and the general public.
The founders of the
African Endometriosis Awareness and Support Group are Dr Abayomi Ajayi from
Nigeria, Ms Kgomotso Mpho Gagotsi from Bostwana and Fareeda Serwaa Brobey from
Ghana.
The event was anchored
by popular Nigeria Info broadcaster, Wemimo Adewuni and Bostwana media
personality and endometriosis activist, Gaona Dintwe.
There was also a panel
discussion on the topic. Experts were selected from different parts of the
world and they all aired their views on the burdens endometriosis has placed on
African women, especially where there are no adequate healthcare services.
Some of the panellists
are Dr Dickson Francis from Ghana, Dr Femi Olorogun from South Africa, Dr
Busola Amu from Qatar, Dr Julien Bakenga from France and Dr Habeeb Sadauki from
Nigeria.
0 Comments