Publication date : 20 May 2015
The reportage from Afghanistan, Nepal and Pakistan highlights the efforts in treating fistula through stories of women who endured and overcame the condition.
Obstetric fistula
Suffering in Silence: Obstetric Fistula in Asia
UNITED NATIONS, New York - Significant gains have been made in improving sexual and reproductive health and advancing reproductive rights since the 1994 Cairo International Conference on Population and Development. But many people, especially the poor and vulnerable, still lack access to quality sexual and reproductive health services, including life-saving emergency obstetric care.
Preventing Childbirth Injury in Nepal
Publication date : 06 February 2012
In Nepal, UNFPA and the Women's Rehabilitation Centre (WOREC) are providing treatment for women suffering from obstetric fistula and spreading the word that this debilitating injury can, in most cases, be prevented by avoiding early pregnancy and childbirth and giving birth with a skilled attendant. Video: UNFPA Nepal and WOREC
KARACHI, Pakistan – At least 150,000 women in Pakistan suffer from obstetric fistula – damage to the bladder or large intestine caused by obstructed labour. Because of fistula, they leak urine and/or feces uncontrollably. Every year, six thousand more Pakistani women develop this condition. Only 800 are treated with corrective surgery. The rest face a life of stigma and exclusion from their communities. They become social outcasts.
Giving birth is typically the most joyful moment in a woman’s life. Yet, this very process takes the life of so many women worldwide. Every day, some 800 women die in pregnancy or childbirth from complications that are very often preventable. And for every woman who dies, around 20 more suffer debilitating childbirth injuries, such as obstetric fistula. We already have an international consensus on how to address that. All we need now are resources and accelerated and sustained action.
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — “I am so happy to learn that I am completely cured,” said a jubilant Sah Sin, 58 years old, after visiting the Chenda polyclinic. After more than three decades of isolation and pain due to her chronic incontinence, she said she would be more confident to interact with her fellow villagers from now on.
UNITED NATIONS, New York, 20 May 2013—Countries around the world will mark the first-ever International Day to End Obstetric Fistula, 23 May, with a variety of events to raise awareness of this neglected health and human rights challenge.
New York, 23 May 2014
The theme of this year’s International Day to End Obstetric Fistula, “Tracking Fistula – Transforming Lives,” reflects an important step forward in eradicating this preventable condition, which affects an estimated two million women and girls in developing countries.
