LONDON : The United Nations Population Fund has launched a campaign to raise money to prevent and treat obstetric fistula, a pregnancy-related injury that disables hundreds of thousands of women each year, mainly in South Asia and Africa.

The women are left in pain, suffer from incontinence and are often cast out by their community.

The UN says on top of coping with a stillborn baby, many women hide themselves away because they are so embarrassed by their condition.

Now the fund is launching a campaign to bring the problem into the open.

It is estimated there are 20,000 to 50,000 new cases of obstetric fistula each year, on top of the millions of women, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, who already live with the condition.

Obstetric fistulas occur when a protracted labour results in tissue separating the womb from the bladder or the rectum dying.

This creates a hole, leaving the woman incontinent, often disabled, in great pain, and unable to conceive again.

British doctor Gloria Esebona works in the country of her parents, Nigeria.

She says at least one million women there suffer from the condition.

Said Dr Esebona "I find it absolutely amazing that in this day and age, five hours between countries, let's say for instance the UK and Nigeria -- in one country mothers are given healthy babies at the end of their childbirth experience. But you go to Nigeria, many women do not have their babies and on top of that, they have empty arms, they are left with these devastating injuries which leave such big holes in their lives. And unless you do something for them, they have no chance of becoming normal women again."

Along with African countries, obstetric fistula is common in women in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan.

Now, the United Nations is hoping to raise awareness with a new campaign, saying the condition can be both prevented and treated easily, but more resources must be put into maternal health care.

Said Dr Arletty Pinel of the UN Population Fund, "We're hoping that the campaign will put maternal health into the picture; obstetric fistula becomes a known entity to show how things can go terribly wrong when trying to give birth. We're hoping to be able to get commitment from people and governments to be able to invest in this. And in the case of Africa specifically, governments must get to know more about obstetric fistula and maternal health, so even they can allot from their own budgets, money for this."

The UN is working with 35 countries on this issue, the majority in Africa.

It says it also hopes that governments will try to dissuade the marriage of young girls, who are at great risk of developing the condition in childbirth.

Those behind the campaign are aiming to raise US$75 million over five years to help those women whose lives have been blighted by fistula and to save the lives of their children. - CNA /ct