Why We Work in Zimbabwe
In Zimbabwe, less than one half of births are registered, and only a third of Zimbabwean children have a birth certificate. According to our hospital partners, this indicates that many births are taking place outside of health facilities, and suggests maternal mortality and complication rates are much higher than what is reported.
Rural women bear the heaviest share of the suffering. There are few physicians and even fewer gynecologists in isolated areas, and community awareness about fistula is very low. With so few resources, Zimbabwean women will continue to develop fistula in childbirth— and the country already faces an enormous backlog of fistula patients. There is a tremendous need to build healthcare capacity and help Zimbabwean women who are suffering, many for years on end.
What You Help Us Do
We are investing in the following areas to build Zimbabwe’s in-country medical services and provide life-transforming surgery to as many women as possible:
Meet Our Partners
We are currently partnering with Women and Health Alliance International (WAHA) to deliver fistula treatment to women in Zimbabwe. In 2014, Women and Health Alliance International (WAHA) approached Fistula Foundation with a bold plan: they wanted to start Zimbabwe’s first fistula treatment program. The country faced a dire maternal health situation—Zimbabwean women had virtually no options for fistula treatment, and incidence was on the rise due to a severe lack of access to maternal care.
WAHA’s work has been trailblazing. Today, WAHA’s program remains the only fistula treatment program in Zimbabwe, and they have established their own referral network through community-based organizations and forged agreements with local hospitals.
WAHA
- $245,000 in FY2017
- $245,250 in FY2016
- $319,500 in FY2015
- $134,800 in FY2014
- $10,000 in FY2013
