UVP - Obstetric Fistula Repair for Women
Uganda Village Project (UVP) is working to help repair women with obstetric fistula in Iganga District, Uganda. Obstetric fistula is a painful and isolating condition characterized by an abnormal passageway between the vagina or uterus and internal organs such as the bladder or rectum, which leads to persistent leakage of urine and/or feces through the vagina.

This is a picture of Women being transported by UVP to a repair camp at Kamuli Mission Hospital. Funded.

Obstetric fistula is particularly prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa, and Uganda has been reported to have the third-highest rate of fistula in the world. Virtually unheard of in wealthier nations, obstetric fistula (Latin for hole) is an affliction of the very poor, and is predominantly caused by obstructed labor. If the obstruction is unrelieved, the baby usually dies, the prolonged impaction of its head against the mother’s internal tissue resulting in a fistula. The loss of the baby, the persistent incontinence and rank odor that follows, along with many other possible complications such as infertility and chronic infection, all serve to isolate the woman from family, society, and employment. Though a simple surgical repair can mend most cases of obstetric fistula, most women go untreated. Many are unaware that a curative repair is possible. They may be afraid to admit to the condition, or too poor to afford the repair.

We identify women with obstetric fistula though a number of avenues – village outreaches, health center referrals, radio shows, and simple word-of-mouth between women. We then transport women bi-annually to “repair camps” at Kamuli Mission Hospital, where they are repaired by surgeons from the UK-based non-profit group Uganda Childbirth Injuries Fund. In Uganda, all hospital patients must arrive with a friend to feed, attend and nurse them, and so we also transport one attendant for each patient. After surgery, we transport the women home (an important step, because if they go home by motorcycle taxi, or walk long distances, they risk re-opening their healing fistula).

Besides repairing women, we also educate women through our “Healthy Villages” program (and through radio shows) about the childbirth issues associated with obstetric fistula, and how to best prevent fistula. Many women do not know what causes the fistulas, and think that they may be brought on by witchcraft. We have also worked with local health centers and village traditional birth attendants (TBAs), ensuring that they are aware of and can recognize the condition, and asking them to refer any women with fistula to us, for repair. The women we educate may be living in despair of ever being relieved of their condition, since it is not widely known that fistula can be fixed. Our fistula awareness activities give women who live with a terrible chronic medical condition hope for a better future, and prevent other women from suffering the same fate.

Click on this link to read Will Murk article published in Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine concerning UVP’s obstetric fistula work in Uganda.