By: Zainab Adam –

Fanna Muktar is among the thirty-five beneficiaries of a Free Vesicovaginal Fistula (VVF) surgery in Borno state.
According to her, her world became dark in February 2024 when she developed VVF.
Mrs Muktar who resides at a village was in labour for four days at home, with no hospital service nearby to aid her child delivery until she was referred to the state capital the fifth day.
“I lost the baby in the process of the prolonged labour and ended up with this bitter disease,” she said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 50,000 to 100,000 women worldwide are affected by obstetric fistula, an abnormal opening between a woman’s genital tract and her urinary tract. The development of obstetric fistula is directly linked to one of the major causes of maternal mortality: obstructed labour every year.
Women who experience obstetric fistula suffer constant incontinence, shame, social segregation and health problems. It is estimated that more than 2 million young women live with untreated obstetric fistula in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

Part of this statement was corroborated by a Surgeon from VVF Centre, Kebbi State, Dr. Hassan Ladan who was part of the team offering Free Fistula repair to patients in Borno state.
“VVF is attached to younger ones but not because they are young but they developed it during forced delivery,”
“VVF makes a person voiceless. Most of the surgery here is a routine. There are cases operated several times, we have a woman who is being operated for the seventh time and also a woman who developed VVF during her Thirteenth birth,” He said.
The surgeon said any woman who is delivering has the potential to develop VVF because it is a combined factor of ignorance and poverty as they hinder delivery in hospitals, hence calls for more campaigns, media advocacy and engagement of husband’s and traditional leaders on the causes of VVF and importance of hospital attendance.
Dr Ladan cautioned women not to witness two sunsets while in labour and two sunrise after delivery at home before going to the hospital for proper treatment.
Other survivors of VVF like fanna thanked Norway for the funding support as well as United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Centre for Comprehensive Promotion of Reproductive Health (CCPRH) and Borno state Ministry of Health for facilitating a free obstetric surgery that will renew their lives and health.