Sayeba Akhter (born 1953) is a Bangladeshi physician who has dedicated her career to eliminating obstetric fistula.
[7][8] Her device has made a considerable impact on women's health worldwide, saving mothers from suffering postpartum bleeding.
[2][10][11] Obstetric fistula is common in Bangladesh because of the number of child brides who are not physically prepared for childbirth.
[12] Alongside being physically unprepared, young women suffer from social stigma when asking for help, and there is a shortage of doctors trained to handle the condition.
[12] In 2005 Akhter opened a national centre at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital where she trained doctors to repair fistula.
[17][18] She has been involved with the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) since then, serving on the Committee for Genital Trauma.
[14] In 2019 it was announced that Akhter and FIGO had trained over 50 surgeons who had provided over 7,500 repair operations in Africa and Asia.