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26 May 2023 News

Restoring hope, rebuilding lives: A day in the life of a fistula surgeon in Zambia


NORTH-WESTERN PROVINCE, Zambia – Around the world, half a million women and girls are thought to be living with obstetric fistula, a serious childbirth injury that can cause incontinence and result in significant medical and mental health issues. In Zambia, as of 2018, more than 33,000 women and girls had been affected.

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14 Sep 2022 News

Three women, three stories: Picking up the pieces of lives broken by obstetric fistula

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo/KURIGRAM DISTRICT, Bangladesh/KILIFI, Kenya – Pemba was called “ndoki,” or “witch,” by her community, including her father and siblings. Sojina felt like a prisoner in the room she was banished to, forbidden to step outside even to worship. Jamila’s career as an early childhood development teacher came to an end.

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05 Aug 2022 News

Celebrating Hayat an Obstetric Fistula Heroine in Juba

Juba, SUDAN - Soft-spoken, compassionate, and cheerful; Hayat Peter is one of the nurses who is contributing to ending obstetric fistula in Juba,South Sudan. A registered nurse by profession for the last 22 years, she has helped many patients. However, assisting fistula patients to regain their dignity is one of the biggest moments in her career, according to Hayat.

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15 Jul 2022 News

Midwives bring portable ultrasound technology to remote communities in Kenya

MFANGANO ISLAND, Kenya – In her four years at Sena Health Centre, midwife Goretti Adhiambo has seen too many lives lost to complications in pregnancy and childbirth. “We provide all the basic maternal health services at the health centre including antenatal care, but complicated cases have to be referred to the mainland hospital for specialized care,” she explained. 

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23 May 2022 News

International Day to End Obstetric Fistula 2022

It’s easy to ignore things you don’t know anything about. Obstetric fistula is one of those things. But it’s a devastating childbirth injury to women who experience it, usually fatal to unborn babies (90 per cent of cases end in stillbirth) and – here’s the encouraging news – not only treatable but preventable. 

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23 May 2022 News

When is the International Day to End Obstetric Fistula?

When is the International Day to End Obstetric Fistula?

Every year on 23 May, the International Day to End Obstetric Fistula is observed by the international community as a way to rally action, commitment and support to ending obstetric fistula.

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16 May 2022 News

5 things you might not know about obstetric fistula

UNITED NATIONS, New York – First things first, what is obstetric fistula?  

What it is: Obstetric fistula is a traumatic childbirth injury that robs a woman or girl of her health, rights and dignity. It is a hole between the birth canal and bladder that causes uncontrollable urinary incontinence. A hole between the birth canal and rectum causes faeces to leak. 

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03 May 2022 News

5 things to know about motherhood

UNITED NATIONS, New York – Celebrated around the world throughout the year, Mother’s Day is exactly that: celebratory. But for some women, motherhood can be fraught.

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21 Feb 2022 News

Helping fistula survivors to become self-reliant

Ntchisi, Malawi-Although Marita Vula was in pain, she tried as much as possible to ignore it. The 28-year-old was experiencing her first labour pains.

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05 Jan 2022 News

Iceland and UNFPA sign a $7 million agreement to help eliminate obstetric fistula in Sierra Leone

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Iceland and UNFPA have signed a $7 million landmark agreement to help end obstetric fistula in Sierra Leone and improve the lives of the women and girls suffering from this preventable condition. Sierra Leone has one of the highest lifetime risks of pregnancy-related mortality and morbidity, including obstetric fistula. 

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