WUNRN
http://www.unfpa.org/obstetric-fistula
Obstetric Fistula
Obstetric
fistula is one of the most serious and tragic injuries that can occur during
childbirth. It is a hole between the birth canal and the bladder or rectum
caused by prolonged, obstructed labour without treatment. It leaves women
leaking urine, faeces or both, and over time, it leads to chronic medical
problems. Sufferers also often endure depression, social isolation and
deepening poverty.
An
estimated 2 million women in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, the Arab region, and
Latin America and the Caribbean are living with this injury, and some 50,000 to
100,000 new cases develop each year. Yet fistula is almost entirely
preventable. Its persistence is a sign that health systems are failing to meet
women’s essential needs.
UNFPA
provides medical supplies, training and funds to fistula prevent, treatment and
social reintegration programmes. UNFPA also strengthens maternal health and
emergency obstetric services to prevent this injury from occurring in the first
place.
http://www.unfpa.org/news/un-calls-intensified-efforts-end-fistula
Call for Intensified Efforts to End Obstetric Fistula – UN
General Assembly Resolution +
23 December 2014 - UNITED
NATIONS, New York – The United Nations General Assembly has
adopted a resolution calling for increased actions to end obstetric fistula.
The largely preventable condition is estimated to afflict some 2 million women
around the world – most of them marginalized, impoverished and without access
to essential maternal health services.
Obstetric fistula is an injury caused by
prolonged, obstructed labour. The condition typically leaves women incontinent,
and as a result they are often shunned by their communities. Unable to find
jobs and abandoned by their families, many fistula survivors face deepening poverty
and stigma.
The UNFPA-backed resolution, adopted on 18 December, calls on the
international community to intensify technical and financial support to
maternal health efforts, including action to eliminate fistula, before the end
of 2015. The end of next year is the deadline to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals, including Goal 5, which calls for improving maternal health.
“The resolution is important for millions of women suffering the
pain and shame of fistula,” said Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director
of UNFPA.
Increasing
treatment and prevention
There are an
estimated 50,000 to 100,000 new
cases of fistula per year. Many women live with the condition for years – or
even decades –
because they cannot afford to obtain treatment.
The
UNFPA-led Campaign to End Fistula currently supports about half of all surgical
fistula repairs in developing countries. Since 2003, the Campaign has supported
more than 47,000 fistula repairs.
But fistula survivors often require assistance beyond just
treatment. Those who have been ostracized often need help developing
income-generating skills so they can successfully return to their communities
and rebuild their lives.
And the best cure is prevention: Skilled birth attendance by a doctor,
nurse or midwife, and access to timely emergency care in the case of a
complication, can help prevent fistula from occurring in the first place.
Working with more than 90 partners in more than 50 countries, the
Campaign to End Fistula strives to make obstetric fistula as rare in developing
countries as it is in industrialized nations, where ready access to emergency
obstetric care has made the condition all but disappear.
Stepping up efforts
The resolution also calls for
improved registration and follow-up for fistula survivors to improve their
access to medical treatment and to ensure they are able to receive obstetric
care during future pregnancies.
“With the backing of the
international community, UNFPA and its partners in the Campaign to End Fistula
can continue to step up our efforts to prevent fistula and treat and
re-integrate fistula survivors,” said Dr. Osotimehin.
The resolution was co-sponsored
by more than 150 Member States and was adopted by consensus.