No fewer than 12,000 cases of VVF are being recorded in the country annually, an official has said.
Dr Habib Sadauki, the Country Project Manager, USAID Fistula Care Plus Project, disclosed this while briefing newsmen in Kano.
Reports say that the briefing is part of activities to commemorate this year’s International Fistula Day, which comes up on May 23.
He said out of the number, only about 5,000 of the cases were being repaired, leaving behind the backlog of patients unrepaired annually.
“Fistula is much more common in Northern Nigeria and it is rampant in most Sub-Saharan African countries,’’ he said.
He said the programme, which is being funded by USAID, is working in 11 centres in 10 states in the country.
He listed the states as Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, Katsina, Kano, Bauchi, Kwara, Oyo, Cross River and Ebonyi.
According to him, the programme was also working in five countries, including Niger Republic, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Bangladesh.
Sadauki commended the Kano State Government for its support to VVF patients in the state and urged it to maintain the tempo.
In her remarks, the state Commissioner for Women Affairs, Dr Binta Jibrin, said about 100 VVF patients were repaired by the state government.
She said the repaired patients were also trained in some home based trades to enable them be self-reliant after they reunited with their respective families.