Ending Fistula

Every year 9000 women in Ethiopia are victims of fistula. Obstetric fistula is an injury of childbearing which is usually caused by several days of obstructed labour, without timely medical intervention, typically a Caesarean section.

Fistula occurs when emergency obstetric care is not available to women who develop complications during childbirth. In Ethiopia , 85% of population lives in the rural areas where health facilities are hard to reach, especially for women in labour pain.

UNFPA Ethiopia has supported the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in their important work to prevent and treat obstetric fistula.

Today, fistula is almost unheard of in high-income countries, or in countries where obstetric care is widely available. In Ethiopia, less than 10 percent of all births are assisted by a skilled attendant.

The consequences of fistula are life shattering: The baby usually dies, and the woman is left with chronic incontinence. Because of her inability to control her flow of urine or faeces, she is often abandoned or neglected by her husband and family and ostracized by her community. Without treatment, her prospects for work and family life are greatly diminished, and she is often left to rely on charity.

Poverty, malnutrition, poor health services, and gender discrimination are interlinked root causes of obstetric fistula. Harmful traditional practices such as early marriage or sexual violence that are common and deep-rooted in Ethiopia increase the risk of a woman to fistula. Poverty is the main social risk factor because it is associated with early marriage and malnutrition and because poverty reduces a woman's chances of getting timely obstetric care. Because of their low status in many communities, women often lack the power to choose when to start bearing children or where to give birth. Childbearing before the pelvis is fully developed, as well as malnutrition, small stature and general poor health, are contributing physiological factors to obstructed labour. Older women who have delivered many children are at risk as well.

Learn more on obstetric fistula from the UNFPA End Fistula Campaign