The Hajiya Gambo Sawaba General Hospital Fistula Centre, Zaria, repairs over 2,000 obstetric fistula cases every year, and over 2,000 since its establishment in 1999.
Chief Surgeon of the centre, Dr Mohammed-Ado Zakari, during the 2026 commemoration of the International Day to End Fistula held at the hospital in Zaria on Saturday, disclosed that the centre currently performs an average of 150 repairs annually, with a success rate of over 70 percent.
The chief surgeon said five doctors and several nurses had also been trained at the centre under the mentorship of Dutch Fistula Surgeon, Dr Kees Waaldijk.
He said the centre was established through collaborative efforts of the Kaduna State Government, Rotary International, and Waaldijk to address the growing burden of obstetric fistula in northern Nigeria.
Zakari described obstetric fistula as an abnormal opening between the vagina and the bladder or rectum, caused by prolonged obstructed labour, resulting in continuous leakage of urine or stool.
Also Read: Over 20 million Nigerians embrace health insurance
He said the condition remains a major public health and social problem, particularly among rural women with poor access to quality maternal healthcare.
The surgeon revealed that globally, more than two million women “are living with untreated obstetric fistula, while between 50,000 and 100,000 new cases occur annually.”
He added that Nigeria alone may have between 100,000 and one million women living with untreated fistula.
Zakari identified early marriage, home delivery, shortage of skilled birth attendants, poverty, and prolonged obstructed labour as major causes of the condition.
He also raised concerns over increasing cases linked to medical quackery and poor surgical practices.
According to him, over 60 percent of private clinics in Zaria do not have qualified medical personnel to oversee maternal healthcare needs.
“We currently have patients who are victims of such unqualified medical personnel undergoing fistula repairs at the centre.
“I am retired and own a private hospital, but I know that the priority of some private clinics is money, not patient-centred services,” he said.
The surgeon, however, commended the Federal Government for interventions through the Basic Health Care Provision Fund and the Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care initiatives.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the 2026 theme for the International Day to End Fistula is: “Her Health is a Right: Invest in Ending Fistula and Childbirth Injury”.
The centre used the occasion to hold a special session for traditional and religious leaders.
The session urged participants to leverage the state health insurance scheme and other federal government’s interventions to improve access to quality, subsidized medical care.
Earlier, Dr Hassan Adamu, Medical Director of the hospital, reiterated the hospital’s commitment to providing robust health services to VVF patients.
He called for increased investment by governments, development partners, and philanthropists to strengthen maternal healthcare services and eliminate fistula and childbirth injuries.
In his remarks, Alhaji Sambo Shehu-Idris, District Head of Zaria and Kewaye, commended the centre for the event.
Idris, represented by Alhaji Ibrahim Sarki, Ward Head of Madarkaci, lamented that traditional leaders were closest to the communities and often report the presence of quack centres.
He, however, said the lack of action by relevant authorities had made them targets of illegal operators.
NAN
