Benin

Why We Work in Benin

Benin is one of Africa’s most stable democracies, but economically, it is seriously underdeveloped and corruption runs rampant throughout. It remains one of Africa’s largest producers of cotton but ranks among the poorest countries.

Despite the relatively high percentage of births attended by a skilled health worker, maternal mortality has been slow to decrease. Each year 1,600 women in Benin die during childbirth,  and for every woman that dies, the World Health Organization estimates 20 more survive with significant injuries, such as obstetric fistula. 

Rural women bear the heaviest share of this suffering. High rates of fertility, teenage pregnancy and a lack of emergency obstetric care fuel particularly poor maternal health outcomes in the country’s remote areas. There is an urgent need to invest in fistula treatment to address the country’s many new cases of fistula each year, as well as the backlog of women awaiting care.