Kabul 1 June 2016–On the commemoration of the International Day to End Obstetric Fistula (OF) Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), Afghanistan Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AFSOG) and UNFPA – United Nations Population Fund together and in one voice agreed that:
Obstetric fistula
1. What are the main causes of fistula, and what makes it prevalent in Somali?
Obstetric fistula is almost exclusively a condition of the poorest, most vulnerable and most marginalized women and girls. It afflicts those who lack access to the timely, high-quality, and life-saving maternal health care that they so desperately need and deserve, and that is their basic human right. As a doctor myself and, most importantly, father to four beloved daughters, I am personally outraged that fistula, which is wholly preventable, still occurs in today’s world.
Statement on the International Day to End Obstetric Fistula by
Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund
United Nations, New York, 23 May 2016
An estimated 2 million women and girls are living with obstetric fistula, a hole or tear between the birth canal and the rectum or bladder that results in chronic incontinence, dangerous infections and, due to the stigma that surrounds it in many communities, a lifetime of discrimination. Sufferers often endure depression, social isolation and deepening poverty. Many women live with the condition for years – or even decades – because they cannot afford to obtain treatment.
Women and girls in Nepal are still suffering from obstetric fistula, a health condition that is preventable and in most cases treatable. Obstetric fistula, a hole in the birth canal, is one of the most serious injuries of childbirth caused by prolonged, obstructed labour in the absence of timely and adequate medical care.
By Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund
Ending fistula within a generation
Obstetric fistula is almost exclusively a condition of the poorest, most vulnerable and most marginalized women and girls. It afflicts those who lack access to the timely, high-quality, and life-saving maternal health care that they so desperately need and deserve, and that is their basic human right.
An estimated 2 million women and girls are living with obstetric fistula
Statement on the International Day to End Obstetric Fistula by Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund
