North East has highest obstetric fistula cases in Nigeria-official

From Ahmad Mohammed, Bauchi

Dr Umar Ibrahim, the Medical Director of National Obstetric Fistula Center Ningi has said that the North Eastern region of Nigeria has the highest number of Obstetric Fistula complications in the country.
Ibrahim made the disclosure in an interview with Journalists in Ningi on Tuesday.
He said the center was supposed to cover the six North East states but clients come across all the country and neighboring countries.
“But North East region have the highest cases of Obstetric fistula cases coming from Obstetric labour, rape and from the complication of the insurgency ,” he said.
He said annually the center repairs 400 to 500 patients in the center, saying that some were repairs on routine while others in gathers in group of 100 patients we operate at a time.
He added that because the repairs and feeding of patients are free that is why the center manages the number of repairs.
According to him, the challenges of the center is lacking infrastructure, expertise that is skills workers and resources which almost affected the services some times because we operate freely.
He said the federal government is doing its best in provision of infrastructure in the center, “this is a new permanent site with new ward and second one is coming and theatre is almost 95 percent.”
The medical director, however, called on the well to do individuals, partners, corporate bodies to support the citizenry and the center.