The Medical Director of the newly-established National Obstetric Fistula Centre (NOFIC), Ugbor, Benin City, Prof. Ileogben Sunday-Adeoye (MON) has stated that the entire treatment for fistula patients in NOFIC was free, including consultation and examination, surgery, and management.
While maintaining that counseling and rehabilitation services; physiotherapy services; feeding and transportation of the patients, as well as follow-up services after discharge were all part of the social intervention by the Federal Government, Prof. Sunday-Adeoye called on the people of Edo State and the South-South Zone to take advantage of the free treatment package provided by the federal government.
Speaking during the 2026 International Day to End Obstetric Fistula with the theme, “Her Health is a Right: Invest to End Fistula and Childbirth Injuries”,Prof Sunday-Adeoye said that the health of the woman is a right that requires the attention of the family and the society.
The don explained that in view of the central role of the woman in the family, her health should be protected and promoted by all stakeholders. He described the woman’s role in the family as that of a priceless jewel in the crown.
The medical director described obstetric fistula as a childbirth injury and a devastating condition attended with leakage of urine and
uncontrollably from the vagina.
He identified the challenges of the condition to be gynaecological, medical, socio-economic, psychological and listed some of them to include inability to control flow of urine, passage of feces with associated persistent odour, nerve injury, infertility/childlessness, renal and dermatological diseases, stigmatization, ostracization from family and society, loss of self-esteem, mental health issues, severe economic dependency, marital disharmony and separation.
The medical expert in obstetrics and gynaecology disclosed that Nigeria accounts for 40% of the global fistula scourge, with Northern Nigeria having more cases than the South, adding that the United Nations had set Year 2030 as the year to kick out the burden of obstetric fistula globally.
He opined that the nations of the world see obstetric fistula as an assault on the health of the woman, stressing that whatever makes a woman unable to contribute to family and nation building should be a global concern.
Prof. Sunday-Adeoye, who is the immediate past Executive Secretary of the International Society for Obstetric Fistula Surgeons, decried the stigmatization and ostracization that comes with obstetric fistula condition, especially from family, friends, as well as the society, and stressed that whatever would reduce the dignity of womanhood should be tackled by all stakeholders, individuals, families and nations of the world.
The Chief Executive of NOFIC Benin explained that the Federal Government had come up with a strategy for the prevention of new cases and free treatment of existing obstetric fistula cases; a two-prong approach that disrupts the conveyor belt that brings in more fresh Obstetric fistula patients, while providing surgery and post-surgical treatment for patients.
According to Prof. Sunday-Adeoye, four national obstetric fistula centres had been established across the country by the Federal Government as part of the strategy to tackle the scourge, with the NOFIC Benin Centre serving the people of the South-South Geo-Political Zone of the country and adjoining states.
He pointed out clearly that the entire treatment for fistula patients in NOFIC was free, including consultation and examination; surgery and management; counselling and rehabilitation services; physiotherapy services; feeding and transportation of the patients, as well as follow-up services after discharge, all of which he described as part of the social intervention by the Federal Government.
The United Nations set aside May 23 of every year as the International Day to End Obstetric Fistula in order to create awareness, advocate, and mobilise all stakeholders globally to bring the scourge to an end. The theme for this year is “Her Health is a Right: Invest to End Fistula and Childbirth Injuries.
Meanwhile, to mark the 2026 International Day to End Obstetric Fistula, the National Obstetric Fistula Centre (NOFIC), Ugbor, Benin City, in collaboration with the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Edo State Council, will on Monday, May 25, 2026, hold a one-day Free Medical Outreach for members of the Union at the NUJ Press Centre beginning at 8 am. The outreach will feature services such as blood sugar tests, blood pressure measurements, free consultations by medical consultants; enlightenment on the causation and management of obstetric fistula; health talk, and much more.
