Monrovia, Liberia – Regardless of affecting an estimated 56 million girls and women throughout sub-Saharan Africa, Feminine Genital Schistosomiasis (FGS) stays one of many continent’s least acknowledged and most underreported gynecological situations. Now, a Liberian scholar is main the cost to vary that.
By Gerald C. Koinyeneh, [email protected]
Ayesha E.R. Bell-Gam Woto, a PhD candidate on the Liverpool College of Tropical Drugs, is conducting groundbreaking analysis into the prevalence and influence of FGS in Liberia — a rustic the place the illness stays largely hidden as a result of lack of understanding, stigma, and poor diagnostic instruments.
In an interview with FrontPage Africa, Bell-Gam Woto defined that FGS is attributable to a waterborne parasite that lives a part of its life in freshwater snails earlier than getting into the human physique — significantly that of girls and women — by way of unbroken pores and skin throughout on a regular basis actions equivalent to bathing, washing, or accumulating water.
“As soon as contained in the physique, the parasites develop into grownup worms and launch poisonous eggs,” she stated. “Many of those eggs fail to exit the physique and develop into trapped within the reproductive organs, inflicting ache, vaginal discharge, irregular bleeding, and generally infertility.”
Whereas the illness is treatable with a drug referred to as praziquantel, many ladies endure in silence as a result of misdiagnosis or the disgrace surrounding reproductive well being points.
Widespread, But Hidden
FGS is most prevalent in rural areas, significantly in riverine communities the place entry to scrub water and sanitation is proscribed. In Liberia, women as younger as 10 can develop into contaminated, particularly those that swim or play in contaminated water.
“Signs like vaginal itching, discharge, bleeding after intercourse, or pelvic ache are sometimes mistaken for STIs or cervical most cancers,” stated Bell-Gam Woto. “This results in misdiagnosis and mistreatment, leaving the basis trigger unaddressed.”
She famous that diagnosing FGS stays a problem, significantly at rural clinics that lack the mandatory gear or skilled personnel. Instruments like colposcopes and even primary pelvic exams are uncommon, and commonplace lab checks usually fail to detect the genital type of the illness.
A Private Mission
Bell-Gam Woto stated her resolution to research FGS in Liberia was pushed by a need to fill crucial gaps in analysis and public well being infrastructure left within the aftermath of the nation’s civil warfare.
“I’m enthusiastic about evidence-based healthcare,” she stated. “Once I found how little was recognized about FGS in Liberia, I knew I needed to contribute — particularly as a lady, I felt an obligation to assist fellow girls who could also be struggling with out understanding why.”
Her analysis is already making an influence. The Liberian Ministry of Well being has introduced plans to develop a nationwide well being coverage for FGS, knowledgeable partially by her findings.
“We’re lucky to have Dr. Louise Kpoto, a superb gynecologist, as Well being Minister,” Bell-Gam Woto stated. “She has made FGS a precedence, and I’m very happy with the momentum we’re constructing.”
Tackling the Disaster
Addressing FGS requires a multifaceted method, Bell-Gam Woto emphasised. Among the many key steps she recommends for governments and NGOs:
• Increase entry to remedy, particularly for grownup girls usually missed by school-based drug distribution packages.
• Prepare well being staff to acknowledge and diagnose FGS accurately.
• Enhance water and sanitation infrastructure to interrupt the cycle of an infection.
• Elevate public consciousness to fight stigma and promote early care-seeking.
• Combine FGS into nationwide well being methods, significantly in reproductive well being and HIV prevention packages.
The results of inaction are dire. Left untreated, FGS can result in infertility, persistent ache, and elevated vulnerability to HIV and probably cervical most cancers.
“This isn’t only a medical subject,” Bell-Gam Woto concluded. “It’s a growth and gender fairness subject. Thousands and thousands of girls and women are affected, and it’s time we make them seen in our insurance policies, packages, and analysis.”
As Liberia strikes ahead with its nationwide response to FGS, the work of researchers like Bell-Gam Woto might lastly deliver consideration to a long-overlooked menace to girls’s well being.
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