Operations of 105 fistula cases are underway at Wau Teaching Hospital in Western Bahr al Ghazal State, with an aim of targeting 150 women in various parts of South Sudan, a medical source said.
The source told Radio Tamazuj that the programme is carried out by the National Ministry of Health in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
The fistula operation programme started on 19 July until 19 August. South Kordofan women who are living in refugee camps in Unity State were also included.
A woman from Blue Nile who had undergone the fistula operation urged the women to seek primary healthcare during pregnancy. About 50 women have been operated so far.
An obstetric fistula is a childbirth complication due to obstructed labour when the tissues between a woman’s vagina and her bladder or rectum are damaged from the continuous pressure from the baby’s head stuck in the birth canal. The dead tissue falls off resulting in a hole through which the woman continuously leaks urine or faeces or sometimes both. In Sudan and South Sudan early marriage and female genital mutilation are suspected to contribute towards a high number of fistula cases.
Photo: The UNFPA team that operated on 105 fistula patients.