More than two hundred and eighteen thousand women in Nigeria are awaiting fistula surgery, but only about five thousand cases are being treated each year. At the current pace and scale of treatment, it could take as long as forty years to clear the existing backlog.
Obstetric fistula is a devastating childbirth injury that occurs when prolonged labour without adequate medical care creates a hole between the birth canal and the bladder or rectum. The condition causes chronic incontinence and severe physical suffering.
For the women living with this condition, the physical injury is only the beginning of a different kind of suffering. Many are ostracised by their communities and families, creating what health workers describe as a second wound on top of the medical condition.
Despite support from international health organisations, the number of surgical repairs being carried out remains far below what is needed. The gap between the scale of the problem and the capacity to address it continues to widen.
Health professionals say the crisis reflects broader failures in maternal healthcare across Nigeria, where many women in rural areas still lack access to skilled birth attendants and emergency obstetric care during labour.
Prevention through improved maternal healthcare is considered the most effective long-term solution. Ensuring that women have access to quality care during childbirth would significantly reduce the number of new fistula cases each year.
Advocates are calling for increased government funding for fistula repair programmes and greater investment in training surgeons who can perform the specialised operations needed to restore the health and dignity of affected women.