FG spends N513m in 6 months on fistula treatment for 1,629 patients

The Federal Government says it spent ₦513 million to treat 1,629 women with obstetric fistula in the last six months.

Obstetric fistula, as defined by the World Health Organisation, is an abnormal opening between a woman’s genital tract and her urinary tract or rectum. It is closely associated with obstructed labour, one of the leading causes of maternal mortality.

In 2024, the government launched a free treatment programme for obstetric fistula to address both clinical and non-clinical needs of affected women. The initiative is designed to support all women in Nigeria living with the condition, regardless of their geographical location.

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Kelechi Ohiri, director general of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), while giving updates on the programme at the federal ministry of health in Abuja explained that the funding covered both conservative care, number of surgeries required by the women, in addition to other associated costs including feeding, stipend for transportation, post-care follow-up, and enrolment into health insurance to cover other medical needs when they are discharged.

“So far, about 1,629 beneficiaries have been verified, paid for between the last six months of the launch to date. But that’s just the number that we have verified and paid for. The number of claims submitted is almost 2,000”, the DG said.

Ohiri further explained that the programme is currently active in 18 accredited facilities across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, with plans to expand to other health facilities capable of providing the necessary care.

He also highlighted plans to increase awareness so that more women with the condition can benefit working with civil society organisations, traditional and religious leaders.

“As more awareness about the program gets out there, we hope that there’ll be no woman with fistula who will miss out. One the next steps would be how we engage civil society to make sure that the word is out there for more and more people to come in, expanding partnership with other stakeholders, traditional leaders, religious leaders. We feel that there are still people out there who we haven’t reached, who can actually access the care if we continue to do that”, Ohiri explained.

Speaking earlier, Muhammad Pate, coordinating minister of health and social welfare expressed his delight that the initiative is working, reaching the vulnerable women who require the repairs of the obstetric fistula.

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He assured that in line with President Bola Tinubu’s direction, government will expand access to quality care, especially for the poor and vulnerable, and make it affordable for all Nigerians, leaving no one behind.