Uganda

Challenged by civil conflict and a huge refugee crisis, Uganda’s health care system struggles to function effectively—driving higher rates of obstetric fistula.

Why We Work in Uganda

Since ending a 20-year insurgency by the Lord’s Resistance Army in the north, Uganda has enjoyed relative prosperity. Today however, explosive population growth—paired with an influx of refugees fleeing violence in South Sudan and the DRC—threatens to undermine this new-found stability.

With one doctor to every 25,000 individuals, the country’s health care services, and maternal services in particular, are struggling to keep up with demand. The maternal mortality rate is among the highest in the world: a Ugandan woman has a one-in-47 chance of dying in childbirth. A 2016 study by the Ministry of Health estimates 200,000 women are living with fistula, and 1,900 new cases occur each year.

Access to fistula treatment remains limited due to a shortage of trained surgeons and medical supplies. Community stigmatization, impassable roads, and high transport costs further exacerbate the challenges a woman faces accessing care. In remote regions of the country, women with fistula suffer, on average, for 11 years before receiving treatment. 

What You Help Us Do

We are investing in the following areas to build Uganda’s in-country medical services and provide life-transforming surgery to as many women as possible:

Cost of Fistula Surgeries
Community Outreach
Reintegration Support

Meet Our Partners

We identify local surgical teams in Uganda already successfully treating women with fistula—and then work to amplify their efforts. 

Who are our current partners?

CoRSU Hospital

  • Location: Kisubi
  • Partner Since: 2014

Kitovu Hospital

  • Location: Masaka
  • Partner Since: 2012

Surgical Center Mbarara

  • Location: Mbarara
  • Partner Since: 2024

Terrewode

  • Location: Soroti
  • Partner Since: 2011

Uganda Childbirth Injury Fund

  • Location: Kamuli and Tororo
  • Partner Since: 2019

Uganda Village Project

  • Location: Buluba, Tororo, and Kamuli
  • Partner Since: 2013
Who are our past partners?
  • Kagando Hospital
    • Location: Kasese
    • Partner in: 2013 – 2017
  • University of California San Francisco’s Safe Motherhood Program
    • Location: Kampala
    • Partner in: 2014 – 2020
How much funding have we granted?

Below are funding totals since the start of each partnership.

Current Partners

  • CoRSU Hospital: $1,259,885
  • Kitovu Hospital: $1,238,609
  • Surgical Center Mbarara: $80,500
  • Terrewode: $744,283
  • Uganda Childbirth Injury Fund: $117,500
  • Uganda Village Project: $383,589

Past Partners

  • Kagando Hospital: $396,284
  • UCSF Safe Motherhood Program: $41,346

News from the Field

Meet Agnes from Uganda  •  January 28, 2021
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Agnes is a 25-year-old mother of four from Bukaala, a rural village in Uganda. She and her family live far from emergency medical services, so when she went into a...
Agnes is a 25-year-old mother of four from Bukaala, a rural village in Uganda. She and her family live far from emergency medical services, so when she went into a complicated labor, Agnes had very few options. Tragically, her child did not survive, and she began to leak urine. Agnes lived with obstetric fistula for three long years.
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Meet Dembe from Uganda  •  April 06, 2018
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Dembe did everything right during her pregnancy—she kept up all of her prenatal doctor’s appointments, and made sure that both she and her baby stayed healthy. When her labor began,...
Dembe did everything right during her pregnancy—she kept up all of her prenatal doctor’s appointments, and made sure that both she and her baby stayed healthy. When her labor began, Dembe walked the 10 kilometers from her home to the nearest heath center. She expected a normal delivery, but tragically, this would not come to pass—Dembe experienced a wrenching, prolonged labor, and her child did not survive.
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Featured by The Life You Can Save  •  May 06, 2015
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This month, our partners at The Life You Can Save recommended Fistula Foundation as one of eight recommended charities working to restore vital, long-term services to the people of Nepal....
This month, our partners at The Life You Can Save recommended Fistula Foundation as one of eight recommended charities working to restore vital, long-term services to the people of Nepal. Fistula Foundation's work to support the Fistula Ambassador Program run by our partners at the Uganda Village Project was also featured: To view the full newsletter, click here. Publish on: May 6, 2015
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