restoring hope, rebuilding lives
AboutThe campaign
In 2003, UNFPA and its partners launched a global Campaign to End Fistula, in line with international targets to improve maternal and newborn health and with the goal of making obstetric fistula as rare in developing countries as in the developed world.
In 2018, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution to end it by 2030 and reiterated the goal in 2020.
Ending fistula globally demands strong political leadership, strategic and urgent intervention, significantly increased resources and strengthened collaboration between governments, partners, civil society, health care providers, women and communities.
Since its inception, the Campaign has helped restore the health, dignity, sense of self-worth and agency of more than 100,000 of the world’s poorest and marginalized women and girls by repairing fistulas and providing rehabilitation and reintegration services and support. In 2017, the Campaign to End Fistula received the Women’s Empowerment Award from the United Nations Federal Credit Union (UNFCU) Foundation for its:
Action for a new global agenda grounded in principles of rights, inclusiveness and equality.”
Four pillars
Alongside its partners, the campaign works in more than 55 countries across Africa, Asia and the Arab region and the Caribbean.
It focuses on these four pillars:
1
Prevention
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The most effective way to prevent fistula is to ensure universal access to timely, quality maternal health care services including family planning, skilled birth attendants and emergency obstetric and newborn care. Prevention also entails tackling underlying social, economic and gender inequities to empower women and girls, enhance their life opportunities and delay marriage as well as pregnancy.
2
Treatment
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While prevention is ideal, all women and girls with fistula deserve to be treated with dignity as a human right. The average cost of fistula treatment – including surgery, post-operative care and rehabilitation support – is approximately $600. The Campaign supports all areas of treatment, from training and mentoring doctors in fistula surgery to equipping and upgrading fistula centres.
3
Rehabilitation and reintegration
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Treatment goes beyond the physical. Many patients – especially those who have lived with the condition for years – need emotional, economic, social and medical support to fully recover from their ordeal. The Campaign provides counselling, skills training and other rehabilitative services to empower them after surgery. Engaging communities also helps ensure that women are accepted back into their families and communities without being stigmatized.
4
Advocacy and resource mobilization
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Ending obstetric fistula by 2030, as called for in the new UN Resolution on fistula is a tall order and a very ambitious goal. To achieve it, dramatically increased effort, commitment, investment, and action are urgently required. As the global convener of key stakeholders working to eliminate fistula worldwide, UNFPA & the Campaign to End Fistula prioritize advocacy and resource mobilization at global, regional, and national levels, with public and private sectors, galvanizing all key actors to help make the dream a reality.
International day to end obstetric fistula
In December 2012, 167 countries co-sponsored a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly that called on all Member States to support the activities of UNFPA and its partners in the Campaign to End Fistula.
Spokespeople
One of the highlights of the Women Deliver Conference in Washington D.C.
READ MORE READ MOREHer Royal Highness Crown Princess Mary of Denmark
Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mary of Denmark
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One of the highlights of the Women Deliver Conference in Washington D.C., held in June 2010, was the meeting between Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, and two fistula survivors and advocates: Sarah Omega, from Kenya, and Ms. Awatif Altayib, from West Darfur, Sudan. The Crown Princess, a patron of UNFPA, was deeply moved by their stories. It was an important opportunity for me to learn more about the maternal health challenges that persist in developing countries. Sarah and Awatif lent a face to all women who have suffered due to the lack of access to skilled attendants during pregnancy and childbirth. This is something developed nations take for granted but is still very much a luxury in many countries in the developing world,” said the Crown Princess of Denmark.
As a Spokesperson for the UNFPA-led Campaign to End Fistula and an Ambassador for Virgin Unite
READ MORE READ MORENatalie Imbruglia
Natalie Imbruglia
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As a Spokesperson for the UNFPA-led Campaign to End Fistula and an Ambassador for Virgin Unite, Natalie Imbruglia —singer/actress— is helping to raise awareness and funds for this little-known childbearing condition. Imbruglia first heard about fistula while speaking to Richard Branson, CEO of the Virgin Group, a charitable organization supporting the campaign. In January 2005, she visited fistula hospitals in Ethiopia and Nigeria with representatives from UNFPA and Virgin Unite. Deeply moved, she felt compelled to act and remains involved in the fight against fistula.
"For some people, fistula is a difficult issue to talk about. But that discomfort pales in comparison to what women living with fistula face every day," Imbruglia says. "I don't want to be part of the silence. I want to do everything I can to make a difference in these women's lives."
As the founder of Every Mother Counts, maternal health advocate Christy Turlington
READ MORE READ MOREChristy Turlington Burns
Christy Turlington Burns
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"As the founder of Every Mother Counts, maternal health advocate Christy Turlington Burns became increasingly aware of major causes of ill maternal health during her many missions abroad.
At clinics supported by UNFPA, she met women receiving quality health care that could potentially transform their lives. She has raised her voice against discrimination and inequality, mobilizing communities and decision makers to make the world a better place for women and girls, a place in which they can make voluntary and informed choices about their own reproductive health.
During her mission to Bangladesh in 2011, she visited and filmed at the fistula hospital supported by UNFPA in the capital. She also created an educational module on obstetric fistula, which features the UNFPA program at the Dhaka Medical College to help women who suffered from fistula get back on their feet."
Portuguese television celebrity and UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador, Ms. Catarina Furtado
READ MORE READ MORECatarina Furtado
Catarina Furtado
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Portuguese television celebrity and UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador, Ms. Catarina Furtado was deeply moved by the stories of fistula during her recent visit to a fistula ward in Mansoa, a major city in the Oio region, 55 km from the capital, Bissau. Ms. Furtado is committed to help reducing maternal mortality and morbidities like obstetric fistula, which in turn is bringing hope and dignity back to many women in Africa.
Partners
Aden Hospital, Yemen
African Medical & Research Foundation (AMREF)
American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM)
Babbar Ruga Fistula Hospital
Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA)
Bill and Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health
Bugando Medical Centre, Tanzania
CARE
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Centre Mère-Enfant, Chad
Centre National de Référence en Fistule Obstétricale (CNRFO), Niger
Centre National de Santé de la Reproduction et du Traitement des Fistules, Chad
Columbia University's Averting Maternal Death and Disability Program (AMDD)
Comprehensive Community Based Rehabilitation in Tanzania (CCBRT)
CURE International Hospital of Kabul, Afghanistan
Direct Relief International
Dr. Abbo's National Fistula and Urogynaecology Center, Sudan
East Central and Southern Africa Association of Obstetrical and Gynaecological Societies (ECSAOGS)
EngenderHealth
Equilibres & Populations
Eritrea Women's Project
Family Care International
Fistula e.V.
Fistula Foundation
Fistula Foundation Nigeria
Freedom from Fistula Foundation
Friends of UNFPA
Geneva Foundation for Medical Education and Research (GFMER)
Girls' Globe
Governess Films
Gynocare Fistula Center, Kenya
Hamlin Fistula, Ethiopia
Healing Hands of Joy
Health and Development International
Health Poverty Action, Sierra Leone
Hope Again Fistula Support Organization (HAFSO), Uganda
Human Rights Watch
Institut de Formation et de Recherche en Urologie et Santé de la Famille (IFRU-SF), Senegal
International Confederation of Midwives (ICM)
International Continence Society (ICS)
International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO)
International Forum of Research Donors (IFORD)
International Nepal Fellowship (INF)
International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF)
International Society of Obstetric Fistula Surgeons (ISOFS)
International Urogynecology Association (IUGA)
International Women’s Health Coalition
Islamic Development Bank
Johnson & Johnson
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Kupona Foundation
Lake Tanganyika Floating Health Clinic
Ligue d'Initiative et de Recherche Active Pour la Santé et l'Education de la Femme (LIRASEF), Cameroon
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Maputo Central Hospital, Mozambique
MĂ©decins du Monde
MĂ©decins Sans Frontieres (MSF)
Mercy Ships
Moi University, Kenya
Monze Hospital, Zambia
Mulago Hospital and School, Uganda
National Obstetric Fistula Centre of Abakiliki, Nigeria
Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society of Bangladesh (OGSB)
One by One
Operation FISTULA
Pakistan National Forum on Women’s Health
Pan African Urological Surgeons Association (PAUSA)
Population Media Center
Psychology Beyond Borders
Regional Prevention of Maternal Mortality Network (RPMM)
Royal College Of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (RCOG)
Sana'a Hospital, Yemen
Selian Fistula Project
Société Africaine des Gynécologues-Obstétriciens (SAGO)
Société Internationale d’Urologie
Solidarité Femmes Africaines (SOLFA)
The Association for the Rehabilitation and Re-Orientation of Women for Development (TERREWODE), Uganda
Uganda Childbirth Injury Fund
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
University of Aberdeen
University Teaching Hospital of Yaounde, Cameroon
Virgin UnitePAR
White Ribbon Alliance
Women and Health Alliance International (WAHA)
Women's Health Organization International (WHOI)
Women's Hope International (WHI)
Women's Missionary Society of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (WMS-AMEC)
World Health Organization (WHO)
World Vision
Worldwide Fistula Fund
Zonta International
SEE FULL LIST OF PARTNERS
Supporters
UNFPA acknowledges with gratitude the multi-donor support generated toward improving maternal and newborn health in the world.
We also extend our gratitude to our many partners and individual donors for their collaboration and support of the Campaign to End Fistula since its inception, including:
Arab Gulf Programme for UN Development Organizations
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through EngenderHealth
European Voice
Friends of UNFPA
Government of Australia
Government of Austria
Government of Canada
Government of Germany
Government of Finland
Government of Iceland
Government of Ireland
Government of Japan through the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security
Government of Luxembourg
Government of New Zealand
Government of Norway
Government of Poland
Government of the Republic of Korea
Government of Sweden
Government of Switzerland
Johnson & Johnson
Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation
The Alpern Family Foundation
UNFCU Foundation
United Nations Foundation
Virgin Unite
Women's Missionary Society of the African Methodist Episcopal Church
Zonta International
SEE FULL LIST OF supporters