Medical experts are urging greater public awareness around the importance of planned pregnancies, birth preparedness, complication readiness, and access to quality antenatal care as key strategies to prevent obstetric fistula.
Medical Activity Manager at Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Jahun, Jigawa State, Dr. Fatima Aliyu, emphasized this during a media briefing to mark the International Day to End Obstetric Fistula.
She explained that family planning and adequate spacing between pregnancies are essential to ensuring safer motherhood resulting in healthier mothers and babies and in reducing maternal health complications, including obstetric fistula.
Obstetric fistula, she noted, is a severe childbirth injury caused by prolonged, obstructed labor, resulting in an abnormal opening between the bladder and the vagina, or sometimes between the ureter and the vagina. Women suffering from the condition experience continuous, involuntary leakage of urine, often accompanied by complications like obstetric palsy (foot drop), nerve pain, and significant social stigma.
Aliyu highlighted the critical role of the Jahun Vesicovaginal Fistula (VVF) Centre the only facility in Jigawa State equipped to perform VVF repairs with support from MSF. In 2025 alone, the centre has conducted 74 surgeries, bringing the total to 4,931 procedures since the program’s inception in 2008.
She added that MSF’s ongoing support for maternal and child health has significantly helped reduce maternal and perinatal mortality rates in the state. The organization’s interventions have improved access to essential and comprehensive obstetric and newborn care, ensured the steady supply of medical equipment and trained personnel, facilitated timely patient referrals, and promoted health education on safe delivery and emergency readiness.
Also speaking at the event, the Jigawa State Commissioner for Health, Abdullahi Kaimuwa, acknowledged the vital contributions of development partners such as Devcom, The Challenge Initiative (TCI), MSF, and UNICEF in strengthening healthcare delivery across the state, especially in the area of reproductive health.
