The Department of Health, Medical and Family Welfare, A.P. government, on February 29 (Thursday) has signed an MoU with Bayer Zydus Pharma Private Limited to educate the public and healthcare practitioners about heavy menstrual bleeding and ill-effects of hysterectomy.
This is part of a nationwide campaign, ‘Preserve the Uterus’, that the pharma has initiated, in partnership with Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India, Integrated Health and Wellbeing Council, Family Planning Association of India and Prozela Healthcare, to minimise the number of ‘unjustified hysterectomies’ among women.
Speaking on the occassion, Health, Medical and Family Welfare Commissioner J. Nivas said as part of the MoU, a pilot project will be taken up in Visakhapatnam district where 100 gynaecologists would be given training on medical management of heavy menstrual bleeding. The gynaecologists would then pass on the knowledge to healthcare practitioners at the ground-level who will raise awareness among women.
Mr. Nivas pointed out that Hysterectomy, a surgical procedure through which a woman’s uterus is removed, is the most common non-obstetric surgery after caesarean section. “While gynecological conditions such as fibroids, dysfunctional uterine hemorrhage and uterine prolapse are common medical conditions that necessitate the surgery, we have come to know that the most common reasons for it was excessive menstrual bleeding and pain followed by presence of cysts and uterine disease,” he said.
He quoted the National Family Health Survey from 2019-2021 that put the percentage of prevelance of the surgery among women aged between 30 and 39 in the country at 3.3. Andhra Pradesh has reported the highest number of surgeries among the States, he said, with the prevelance touching 8.7%.
As part of the six-month pilot project, the Bayer Zydus Pharma Private Limited would provide technical support for capacity building of health practitioners and set up demonstration centres in teaching hospitals in Visakhapatnam district.
Also, a Centre of Excellence for LNG IUS insertion would be established in the medical college in the district. LNG IUS is a levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (LNG-IUS), that is a long-acting, reversible form of contraception.
Based on learnings from the Phase 1, the project will be scaled up to all districts gradually, Mr. Nivas said.
