Campaign to End Fistula

COUNTRY IN FOCUS

Furtado visits fistula ward in Guinea Bissau

Portuguese TV celebrity and UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador, Ms. Catarina Furtado, cheers Ms. Salimatu Barry during her visit to the fistula ward in the Mansoa Hospital, Guinea Bissau.

Photo: UNFPA.

Furtado meets survivors in Guinea

“I thought I was doomed to suffer for the rest of my life. One day, I heard on the radio that they were going to operate on fistulas here. So I came. After the surgery I stopped leaking. I am so happy!” Portuguese television celebrity and UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador, Ms. Catarina Furtado was deeply moved by Ms. Salimatu Barry, 24, during her recent visit to a fistula ward in Mansoa, a major city in the Oio region, 55 km from the capital, Bissau. Ms. Furtado is committed to help reducing maternal mortality and morbidities like obstetric fistula, which in turn is bringing hope and dignity back to many women in Guinea Bissau.

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In Tanzania

Olympic marathon medalist from Japan Yuko Arimori toured an obstetric fistula ward and commended the work on fistula in Tanzania. Ms. Arimori, who came to the country to participate in the Ekiden Run for Peace, was impressed by the quality of services provided by Comprehensive Community-Based Rehabilitation in Tanzania (CCBRT) with UNFPA support. UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund recently confirmed a grant for the institution's activities on fistula.

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In Bangladesh

Thanks to years of advocacy, awareness-raising, and capacity building, a new centre for fistula treatment is about to be completed in Bangladesh. Built with funds from the Islamic Development Bank and support from UNFPA, the centre will be based on the premises of a public hospital in Dhaka and it is expected to house the surgical treatment of approximately 800 obstetric fistula patients annually.

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In Liberia

A new national champion has recently joined the UNFPA, United Nations Population Fund, Campaign to End Fistula: Miss Liberia 2009 Shu-rina Wiah. As part of her volunteer services in the fight to end fistula and promote the social reintegration of fistula survivors into Liberian society, Miss Shu-rina Wiah participates in prevention initiatives through information and outreach campaigns, as well as the empowerment of fistula survivors.

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In Niger

Halima Goroukoye, 24, a fistula survivor and advocate from Niger had one of her biggest wishes fulfilled in 2009: She had a healthy baby. A strong advocate in the fight to end fistula, Halima herself lived with obstetric fistula for several months, before she received fistula treatment in 2005 at a clinic supported by the Government of Niger and UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. This was followed by a happy pregnancy four years later. “I thank UNFPA for helping us, women, to get healed. It’s a good thing,” she said.

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	In Pakistan
	In Pakistan, where an estimated 5000 new cases of fistula occur each year, UNFPA is supporting efforts to surgically repair and rehabilitate fistula sufferers at regional centres. The centre in Islamabad was inaugurated by UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Obaid and the Health Minister of Pakistan on 27 April 2007.