40 people from Northern Bahr el Ghazal state will be taken to Wau this week to undergo obstetric fistula operation, a state health official has said.

Obstetric fistula is an abnormal connection between the rectum and the vagina. It causes by prolonged obstructed labor.

The Director General in the Ministry of Health, Garang Kuol Mabior, says the patients with the disease were identified during a survey that was done early this year.

Similar surveys were carried out in other parts of the country. Mr. Kuol says accommodation and transport will be provided for the patients.

“We now to send forty people to Wau for the operation because UNFPA is the one supporting this initiative and they have few consultants; the consultants will be based in Wau,” Mr Kuol said.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is targeting 150 patients with fistula in South Sudan this year.