Côte d'Ivoire: 74,000 women living with obstetric fistula, elimination goal set for 2030
Approximately 74,000 women of childbearing age are living with obstetric fistula in Côte d'Ivoire, representing nearly 1% of that population, according to figures presented on October 5, 2026, at the opening of a review workshop for the national program to combat this condition at the Hotel Suprême in Grand-Bassam. The two-day meeting, organized with the ECOWAS National Office in Côte d'Ivoire, served primarily to issue a call to technical and financial partners, according to Fratmat.info.
Obstetric fistula is an abnormal opening that forms between the vagina and the bladder or rectum following a prolonged labor without a cesarean section. It causes permanent incontinence. Its causes are not mysterious: they are linked to the distance between a woman and an operating room, the lack of qualified personnel, and early pregnancies. In other words, it is a disease of unequal access to care, not a biological inevitability.
Real results but far below needs
The report presented remains modest in light of the estimated 74,000 cases: 60 women treated in 2025 and 150 women repaired through surgical caravans in the same year, according to Fratmat.info. The Logoualé center (Cecaref), in the west of the country, is among the specialized facilities mobilized. The Minister of Women, Family and Children, Nassénéba Touré, has set the horizon: that by 2030, no young Ivorian girl remains trapped in shame, and that every birth is a celebration and "never a sentence," according to the same media outlet.
The program relies on a network of partners: ECOWAS, the West African Health Organization (WAHO), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the South Korean cooperation (KOICA), and the NGO Génération Femmes du 3e Millénaire. The Minister Delegate in charge of African Integration, Adama Dosso, as well as Dr. Honorine Véhi Touré, a pioneer in fistula treatment in the country, took part in the proceedings.
The real challenge: shame and silence
Beyond surgery, obstetric fistula is primarily a social burden. The women affected are frequently repudiated, excluded from collective spaces, and many do not know that an operation can cure them. This is why the mobilization announced in Grand-Bassam will only be worthwhile if it also funds identification in villages and reintegration after the operation. The figure to watch is not the number of declarations of intent, but the number of women actually operated on in 2026 and 2027.
The conclusions of the workshop, which was held on October 5 and 6, 2026, are expected to specify the volume of funding expected from partners.
This article was written in French with the help of artificial intelligence from the sources cited below, then translated from French automatically. Read the original.
