The UN Resident Coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon, has said that the UN would continue to support Nigeria’s Obstetric Fistula Strategic Plan 2019-2023, which outlined a vision of a fistula-free nation.
In a statement by the UN Office in Nigeria to commemorate the International Day to End Obstetric Fistula, Kallon disclosed that Nigeria accounted for 40 percent of all fistula cases globally.
The theme for this year’s commemoration is,  “Women’s rights are human rights! End fistula now!”
According to Kallon, Fistula is not just a health issue but also a women’s rights issue.
“A woman’s right to decide if and when she has children is vital to achieving equality for women and girls.
“Women need to be fully empowered to make their own decisions about sexual and reproductive health and about contraception,” he said.
The UN chief said that the pregnancy-related disability, unheard of in developed nations, affects two million women in the developing world.
He explained that the Covid-19 pandemic was expected to cause an increase in instances of fistula, due to the pressure on the health system, decreased access to family planning, and a rise in child marriages.
“Many Nigerian women and girls are needlessly enduring pain and ostracisation in 2021.
“A hole between the birth canal and bladder and/or rectum is caused by prolonged obstructed labour, without access to timely, high-quality medical treatment.
“It leaves women permanently incontinent and often leads to chronic medical problems, depression, and deepening poverty.
“The social consequences are as devastating as the physical ones, because women are often abandoned by their husbands and shunned by their communities,” he said.
Kallon noted that the UNFPA had ably led the global campaign to End Fistula, helping to conduct 121,000 surgeries in 55 countries since 2003.
“The good news is that obstetric fistula is both preventable and treatable in nearly all cases. Patients with uncomplicated fistula can undergo a simple surgery that costs $600 dollars per patient.”
Kallon added that promoting universal access to quality care was essential to the prevention of fistula.
He said that the current scale of response was not commensurate with the burden of suffering across Nigeria, adding that “we need to scale up and scale up fast.”
“Less than 2,000 surgical repairs are performed annually here, leaving a huge backlog in untreated fistula that will take decades to clear at the current rate.
”We need to strengthen health systems and maternal medical care, promote women’s rights, empower women and girls with autonomy in their decision-making.
“We should also increase availability and affordability of fistula treatment, increase funds allocation, particularly for obstetric fistula prevention, treatment and reintegration services.
“Each new case should and can be prevented when women get timely, high-quality maternity care, including skilled birth attendance, midwifery care and emergency obstetric care,” he said.
Kallon said ending fistula was a key element of “leaving no-one behind” and the world risked failing to achieve the SDG target, if there was still a woman or girl left in the world suffering from fistula and being neglected.