TheCable

Nigeria has 800,000 cases of fistula and 20,000 new cases every year, Raditzai Ndhlovu, country representative of UN Population Fund (UNFPA), has said.

Ndhlovu made this known when she featured at a NAN Forum in Abuja.

“Nigeria currently has 800,000 fistula repairs that needs to be done with 20,000 new cases every year,” she said.

“And you can see with 800,000 waiting to be repaired and the 20,000 coming in every year, the work is huge for the repair. That is why we also want to focus on prevention.”

She said in 2003, the UNFPA initiated a campaign to eliminate fistula, explaining that programme is being implemented in almost 50 countries, including Nigeria.

Ndhlovu said concentrating on repairs alone without paying attention to prevention, would lead to an increase in fistula cases in the country.

According to her, the fund will mark the 2016 International Day for the Elimination of Obstetric Fistula by creating public awareness on the health condition.

“We are trying to make people to have a clear understanding of what fistula is and the causes of fistula to dispel a lot of misconception that surrounds it,” she said.