NATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO END FISTULA LAUNCHED IN UGANDA, SUPPORTED BY FIRST LADY

NATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO END FISTULA LAUNCHED IN UGANDA, SUPPORTED BY FIRST LADY

NEW YORK, 13 February (UNFPA) -– A national campaign to end fistula -- the most devastating of all pregnancy-related disabilities -- was launched in Uganda this week with the participation of the First Lady, Janet Museveni.  Through the campaign, 12 regional hospitals will receive much-needed equipment and supplies for fistula surgery, and local doctors will be trained in surgery and post-operative care.  Advocacy activities will also take place to raise awareness about the problem and efforts will be made to include fistula training in the curricula of medical institutions.

The root causes of fistula are poverty, poor maternal health services and social discrimination against women.  The First Lady has also championed issues of safe motherhood and HIV/AIDS in Uganda.  Some 150 participants, including representatives from the Ministry of Health, religious and cultural leaders, attended the launch in Kampala.

Obstetric fistula is a preventable and treatable condition, yet more than 2 million women remain untreated in developing countries.  Fistula is caused by prolonged and obstructed labour, coupled with a lack of appropriate medical intervention -- typically a Caesarean section -- to relieve it.  The woman is left with chronic incontinence and in nearly all cases the baby dies.

“Fistula is not the type of ailment that attracts headlines because victims are ashamed and afraid to come out due to stigma”, said James Kuriah, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) representative in Uganda, speaking at the launch.  “I am convinced that all of us can make a difference by bringing hope to the thousands of women who are affected with this misfortune.”

A baseline survey, conducted in 2003, was used to shape campaign activities.  At least four hospitals in the country provide fistula surgery and face similar problems:  a growing number of fistula patients, a shortage of surgeons trained in fistula repair, few and insufficiently equipped operating theatres and a heavy reliance on visiting doctors to treat the large numbers of women awaiting surgery.

About 60 per cent of Ugandan women deliver their babies at home and only 38 per cent of births take place with a skilled birth attendant.  The country has made concerted efforts to decrease maternal mortality, increase the number of hospitals at the county level and place skilled health personnel in remote areas over the last several years.

The UNFPA is leading the first-ever Global Campaign to End Fistula.  The long-term goal is to make fistula as rare in developing areas as it is in industrialized countries today.  The campaign is currently providing support to more than 20 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, ArabStates and South Asia.  Fistula initiatives in Uganda are largely supported through grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Government of Finland.

For more information, please contact:  Micol Zarb, tel.: +1 (212) 297-5042, e-mail: zarb@unfpa.org; or visit UNFPA’s Web site at www.unfpa.org/fistula.

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