The international medical organization Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has said over two million women and girls live with obstetric fistula worldwide.
MSF Vesicovaginal Fistula Jahun Centre Field Coordinator, Mr. Jean Clément Ishimwe disclosed this while speaking at the empowerment and discharging of 235 VVF patients at the Jahun General Hospital, Jigawa State.
He said most of the VVF cases are always due to complications that occurred during childbirth.
“It is estimated that 2 million women and girls live with obstetric fistula worldwide which are mostly due to complications during childbirth by prolonged, obstructed labour,” he stated.
Mr. Jean explained that from January to November 2022, 235 women suffering from fistula were successfully treated with surgical intervention.
“282 women had their fistula repaired in 2021. During the same period, the MSF team in Jahun provided 33,917 women with antenatal care, assisted in 12,519 deliveries, and another 1,626 deliveries through cesarean sessions,” he said.
Jean, however, noted that the condition leads to shame, isolation, and stigma, among husbands, families, and communities.
