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Sayeba Akhter

Sayeba Akhter (born 1953) is a Bangladeshi physician who has dedicated her career to eliminating obstetric fistula. She is an executive member of the International Society of Obstetric Fistula Surgeons and has previously served as the president of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Society of Bangladesh. She leads two charities, in Dhaka and Gaibandha, which focus on the education of underprivileged girls.

Sayeba Akther
সায়েবা আক্তার
Born1953 (age 70–71)
Alma materChittagong Medical College
Known forObstetrics and Gynaecology
AwardsEkushey Padak (2020)
Anannya Top Ten Awards
Mother Teresa Awards
Scientific career
InstitutionsDhaka Medical College and Hospital

In recognition of her contribution in medicine, the government of Bangladesh awarded her the country's second highest civilian award Ekushey Padak in 2020.[1]

Early life and education

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Akhter was born to M A Malek and Mahmuda Khatun in Chittagong. She has said that she was inspired to help young mothers by the devotion of the doctors she met during her medical training.[2] Akhter earned her medical degree at Chittagong Medical College.[3][4]

Research and career

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She served as head of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.[4] In 2000, Akhter created a low-cost uterine balloon tamponade (UBT) from a catheter and a condom.[5][6] At the time she created the UBT, around 40% of maternal deaths in Bangladesh occurred due to postpartum haemorrhage.[7] She created the UBT to prevent bleeding after childbirth and the total cost is less than $5.[7][8] Her device has made a considerable impact on women's health worldwide, saving mothers from suffering postpartum bleeding.[7][9] The approach became known as Saeyba's Method, and has been taught to doctors and midwives in developing countries.[2][10][11]

Obstetric fistula is common in Bangladesh because of the number of child brides who are not physically prepared for childbirth.[12] Alongside being physically unprepared, young women suffer from social stigma when asking for help, and there is a shortage of doctors trained to handle the condition.[12] In 2005 Akhter opened a national centre at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital where she trained doctors to repair fistula.[13] She established the centre in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund Campaign to End Fistula after studying the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia.[13] The programme started with one month of training and was funded by the Islamic Development Bank.[13] Between 2005 and 2011 the centre treated almost four hundred patients, and taught the patients income generating activities so that they could become more independent once they left hospital.[14] In 2009, she was fired from Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University.[15] MAMM's Institute of Fistula and Women's Health (MIFWOH), was formally established by Akhter in 2012.[16]

In 2008 she was elected president of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Society of Bangladesh.[17][18] She has been involved with the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) since then, serving on the Committee for Genital Trauma. Together they developed the Fistula Surgery Training Initiative and FIGO Global Competency-Based Fistula Surgery Training Manual.[19] A shortage of specialist surgeons means that only one in every fifty women has access to a trained surgeon.[2] Alongside increasing the capacity of Bangladesh's doctors and surgeons, Akhter has worked with the government of Bangladesh on reducing the prevalence of obstetric fistula in Bangladesh. In 2017 the government of Bangladesh raised the legal age of marriage, meaning that women had to be over eighteen.[14] In 2019 it was announced that Akhter and FIGO had trained over 50 surgeons who had provided over 7,500 repair operations in Africa and Asia.[20][21]

Recently Akhter has worked with Rohingya people who have fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh.[22] Rohingya women and girls have limited access to hygiene, family planning and maternal health.[22] She currently serves as an obstetrics specialist and surgeon at Popular Diagnostic Center, Dhanmondi.[23]

Awards and honours

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Akhter has won several awards and honours, including the Anannya Top Ten Awards, Women Super Achiever Award, Mother Teresa Awards and Lifetime Achievement Award.[24] She holds an honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the Indian College of Maternal and Child Health, the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan and the Indian Academy of Obstetrics & Gynaecology.[25][26][27][28] The government of Bangladesh awarded her the country's second highest civilian award Ekushey Padak in 2020.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b "20 individuals, one organisation to receive Ekushey Padak 2020". The Daily Star. 5 February 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Ending obstetric fistula". FIGO. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  3. ^ "Bangladesh: Fistula Surgery Camp Offers Treatment And Training". Foundation for Women's Health, Research and Development (FORWARD). 2008-06-25. Archived from the original on 2019-10-06. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  4. ^ a b কেনিয়া নয়, প্রসূতির রক্তপাত বন্ধের পদ্ধতির আবিষ্কারক বাংলাদেশ. Bangla Tribune (in Bengali). 2017-08-09. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  5. ^ Vanderbilt, Tom (2019-02-04). ""Reverse Innovation" Could Save Lives. Why Aren't We Embracing It?". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  6. ^ Akhter, Sayeba; Begum, Mosammat Rashida; Kabir, Zakia; Rashid, Maliha; Laila, Tarafder Runa; Zabeen, Fahmida (2003-09-11). "Use of a condom to control massive postpartum hemorrhage". MedGenMed: Medscape General Medicine. 5 (3): 38. ISSN 1531-0132. PMID 14600674.
  7. ^ a b c "Bangladeshi doctor's invention saving millions of mothers". Daily Sun. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  8. ^ "Intrauterine Balloon Tamponade". GO MOMS. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  9. ^ "Powerful stories of women that inspire". Dhaka Tribune. 2018-11-10. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  10. ^ Jabbar, Abdul. "Modern method can reduce maternal mortality". Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS). Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  11. ^ "The Adventures of Supergirls Vol. 2 and Her Stories App launched at DLF". The New Nation. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  12. ^ a b "Fistula Afflicts Child Brides in Bangladesh". BenarNews. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  13. ^ a b c "Fistula Repair Facility Brings Hope to the Outcast". unfpa.org. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  14. ^ a b "Vesicovaginal fistulae in Bangladesh". Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  15. ^ "11 doctors dismissed". The Daily Star. 2009-09-29. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
  16. ^ "MAMM's Institute of Fistula and Women's Health". mifwoh.org. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  17. ^ "PMNCH | Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society of Bangladesh". WHO. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  18. ^ "FIGO Constituent Societies May 2010". International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics. 109 (2): 171–179. 2010. doi:10.1016/j.ijgo.2010.03.002. ISSN 1879-3479. S2CID 221809250.
  19. ^ "Global Competency-Based Fistula Surgery Training Manual" (PDF). FIGO. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  20. ^ "More surgeons for a fistula-free world". FIGO. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  21. ^ Method of Bangladeshi physian Sayeba is saving hundreds of thousands lives throughout the world, retrieved 2019-10-06
  22. ^ a b "Dressing wounds and restoring dignity". FIGO. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  23. ^ "Prof. Dr. Sayeba Akhter". Where's My Doctor?. 2024-01-09. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
  24. ^ "Sayeba Akhter". FIGO 2018 | World Congress of Gynecology and Obstetrics. 2018-05-21. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  25. ^ "International Society of Obstetric Fistula Surgeons". ISOFS. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  26. ^ "Emirates Obs & Gyne Congress". Emirates Obs & Gyne Congress. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  27. ^ "Faculty". AICC RCOG 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  28. ^ "Members' Admission Ceremony:25 November 2011" (PDF). RCOG. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
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