Fistula is a non-profit organization that aims to help women who have been abandoned by their husbands after suffering the dreadful birth complication. Fistula is an injury that results from prolonged labor which cuts off blood supply to the tissues of vagina and bladder. This results in the tissues death leaving a hole through which urine and feces pass through uncontrollably. This problem exists in countries where proper health care and practices are out of reach resulting in many women without husbands left to fend for themselves. With 100,000 new cases each year in the developing world, only a fraction of these women get the help they need. A total of 2 million women are affected by fistula worldwide and from that figure, only 6,500 get the medical treatment and attention they need to continue living a normal life. The birth complication has long been eliminated with the advent of cesarean sections which is not only costly but out of reach of most developing countries. Along with incontinence, nerve damage can also result in paralysis leaving the lower extremities useless taking away their ability to contribute as productive members of society.
The organization was put up by people who saw the debilitating effects of the childbirth condition when they were on volunteer work in developing countries as members of the Peace Corps. The organization was officially put up in the year 2000 and it has brought the plight of these helpless women to the media and many charitable organizations the world over. Relying on the efforts of private citizens’ doctors and other large organizations who regularly donate supplies and equipment, the organization has managed to help many women in the affected regions of Ethiopia. The foundation currently does most of its work there but that doesn’t mean that the complications do not affect other parts of the world. Countries where health care is still a luxury, there are higher cases and they work purely to educate the public about the dangers and debilitating effects of the birth complication that is Fistula.

Originally posted on April 29, 2011 @ 6:53 am