USAID/Guinea: Surgery Restores Dignity for Sufferers of Obstetric Fistula

APRIL 30, 2007

Surgery Restores Dignity
for Sufferers of Obstetric Fistula

Surgical treatment funded by USAID and implemented by Engender Health enables hundreds of Guinean women to resume normal lives.

CONAKRY - More than 300 Guinean women have received surgical treatment for obstetric fistula in the past 18 months, but thousands more continue to bear the stigma of what the medical community considers a highly preventable condition.

A rare occurrence in the developed world, fistula - a tear in the vagina that leads to incontinence - is estimated to affect 2 million women worldwide. Between 50,000 and 100,000 new cases occur each year, usually after prolonged or obstructed labor during childbirth.

"I thank God I am healed," says Monique Leno.

In the 18 months ending March 2007, a total of 326 women received surgical treatment at the District Hospital of Kissidougou and the National Hospital of Ignace Deen in Conakry, with an overall success rate of 69 percent, according to Engender Health, a USAID-funded non-governmental organization (NGO) which implemented the surgical program in Guinea with assistance from the Geneva Foundation of Medical Education and Research.

The program's success has "overwhelmed" the hospitals with women seeking counseling and treatment, said Moustapha Diallo, Engender Health's program manager for Guinea. Because "transportation is a challenge," the NGO currently is seeking additional financing from UNFPA (the United Nations Population Fund) to establish three additional treatment centers in Guinea, he said.

During an April 25 workshop on fistula, medical experts emphasized that while surgery is effective in repairing fistula, preventing its occurrence is better.

Early marriage and a lack of family planning put adolescent girls at particular risk for fistula due to their small size, according to Engender Health. Other contributing factors include poor nutrition, inadequate prenatal care and unattended births common in the developing world.

Girls and women afflicted with fistula often are rejected by their husbands and families, shunned by their communities, and prevented from attending social functions or going to mosque.

"I thank God I am healed," Monique Leno, who recently had surgery to repair a fistula, told attendees at the workshop. "I thank God that today I can rejoin my community."

Story and photos by Richard Stirba