67% of fistula cases in southeast Nigeria caused in hospitals – Obuna

From Uchenna Inya, Abakaliki

The Medical Director of the National Obstetric Fistula Centre (NOFIC), Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Professor Johnson Obuna, has revealed that 67% of the fistula cases in the southeast are caused in hospitals.

Obuna disclosed this when he received a socio-cultural Igbo women’s organisation, Umuada Igbo, in his office.

He said various hospitals, including federal medical centres, teaching hospitals, and even NOFIC, which treats patients with the ailment, cause the disease.

“These days it is not only quacks that give fistula even in teaching hospitals, women get fistula and that is the fact.

“In fact, the recent publication we made, we discovered that up to 67% of fistula we have in the south east is caused in the hospital ranging from teaching hospital to federal medical center.

“Even this National Obstetrics Fistula Center (NOFIC) has caused one fistula from the research we did but we treated it when we finished causing it because we treat fistula.

“It is a problem. Traditional birth attendants, general hospitals. We analyzed it and discovered that most of them are now caused by health workers who don’t know how to differentiate between when labour is obstructed or not.

“The last national fistula meeting we had in Lagos, we discovered that fistula is actually coming down all of the country. The only challenge we have now is that doctors are leaving the country, nurses are leaving the country,” he said.