FISTULA REPAIR PROJECTS

Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital - Addis Ababa. Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, 3 out of every 1,000 pregnant women are estimated to develop Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF), a debilitating, humiliating and life-threatening result of obstructed labor. Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital (AAFH) operates on about 1,200 women suffering from VVF yearly. Through this AMDD collaboration, AAFH will be able to establish fistula centers at 4 hospitals. A mobile team will go to each of the 4 hospitals at least once a year for a period of 10 days. The team will perform the needed reconstructive surgery at the hospital and train the local doctor. In this way, women who are suffering from VVF and are unable to travel to AAFH will receive medical treatment at a fistula center.

African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) Obstetric Fistula Project

AMREF has been involved in surgical specialist outreach services in support of disadvantaged rural communities for the last four decades. Approximately 80% of the population in the East African region live in rural areas. Maternal mortality and morbidity has remained very high in this region mainly due to poor access to quality reproductive health services, poverty, malnutrition, poor road and communication infrastructures, and grossly inadequate health services. AMREF's outreach program identifies the gaps in the health care system and develops methods of intervention. Through its AMDD collaboration, AMREF will work to enhance the capacities of indigenous health workers to prevent, repair, and support women with obstetric fistulae at 11 hospitals, covering remote areas of Kenya, Uganda, and Sudan.