News

Scaling Up the Humanitarian Response for Syrian Refugees

24 June 2012
Syrian refugees receiving supplies in Northern Lebanon. Photo: UNHCR/F. Juez
1
News

UN calls for intensified efforts to end fistula

23 December 2014
Fistula survivors who have recently received treatment now participate in a livelihood programme in National Center for Fistula Treatment, N'Djamena, Chad. The programme aims to successfully reintegrate survivors into their communities. © UNFPA/Ollivier Girard
1
1
Obstetric fistula is a severe morbidity caused when a woman or girl suffers from prolonged obstructed labour without timely access to emergency obstetric care, notably a Caesarean section. The sustained pressure of the baby’s head on the mother’s pelvic bone damages her soft tissues, creating a hole – or fistula – between the vagina and the bladder and/or rectum. In most cases, the baby is stillborn or dies soon after birth, and the woman suffers a devastating injury – a fistula - that renders her incontinent. 
 
1
News

Fistula campaign in South Sudan seeks lasting solutions

03 November 2014
Chief surgeon Said Ahmed presents a bouquet to Akon Kang Ngang, 76, after she received surgery to repair an obstetric fistula. She had been living with fistula for almost 60 years. Photo credit: UNFPA South Sudan/Denis Wani
1
1
Video

Freedom From Fistula

March 16, 2011

An overview of the Campaign to End Fistula workings in Liberia, showing striking scenes of women & girls in their quest for treatment & a new life, free of obstetric fistula, a devastating child-bearing injury that affects more than 2 million women. Created by UNFPA Liberia and Governess Films, 2010

Video

Mobile technology and obstetric fistula

May 23, 2014

A project in Tanzania is using cell phones to help women with fistula. "Mobile technology will be a game-changer in terms of health," says UNFPA Executive Director, Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin.