Campaign to End Fistula Now Active in 30 Countries

New web site launched: www.endfistula.org

UNITED NATIONS, New York — A new web site for the global Campaign to End Fistula, a tragic childbirth injury that affects at least 2 million women in developing countries, was launched today. Features include a three-minute web film, an interactive map highlighting Campaign progress, a photo gallery and testimonies of fistula patients and the doctors who care for them.

Fistula is preventable, and also treatable, through surgery that costs under $300. The Campaign was launched by UNFPA in 2003 in response to emerging evidence of the devastating impact obstetric fistula has on women’s lives. It involves a wide range of partners and currently supports 30 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and the Arab States. The long-term goal is to make fistula as rare in developing areas as it is in industrialized countries today.

“Together we can end fistula,” said Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director for UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. “Before the medical advances of the 20th century, fistula was quite common in Europe and the United States. We must strengthen maternal health systems, bring this to the attention of policy makers and communities and ensure that women living with fistula receive the care they need.”

The Campaign works in three areas to: prevent fistula from occurring; treat women who are affected; and help women reintegrate into their communities once they are healed. In Niger, 600 community health agents received basic training on fistula prevention. In Bangladesh, the National Fistula Centre now performs surgery three days a week and has treated 140 women this year. In Chad, hundreds of women were taught new skills and received small grants following surgery, through an income-generation project.

Each country that joins the Campaign passes through three steps. First, national needs are assessed to determine the extent of the problem and the resources required. Next, they plan a national response based on needs identified. Finally, they implement programmes focusing on prevention, treatment and reintegration of cured patients into their communities.

Fistula usually occurs when a woman experiences several days of obstructed labour and cannot access medical intervention - typically a Caesarean section - to relieve the pressure. The baby dies and the woman is left with chronic incontinence. Women living with fistula face tremendous stigma and shame and may live for years with the condition unaware that a cure is available.

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UNFPA is the world’s largest multilateral source of population assistance. Since it became operational in 1969, the Fund has provided substantial assistance to developing countries, at their request, to address their population and development needs. Making motherhood safer for all women is at the heart of UNFPA’s mandate.

For more information, please visit www.endfistula.org

Contact Information:

Micol Zarb
Tel.: +1 212 297 5042
Email: zarb@unfpa.org