Dr. Andrew Browning (at left, green hat) stands with fistula patients and care staff at Galo Lutheran Mission Hospital in the Central African Republic.
Our Fistula Foundation Partners are true heroes in every sense of the word. Across conflict zones and makeshift operating rooms, our partners prove that compassion can persevere even in the most difficult places. Below you’ll find two inspiring stories of this incredible work in action.
Dr. Browning kneels to heal in the Central African Republic
Dr. Andrew Browning’s back and knees ached. He’d been kneeling on the ground for hours, performing fistula surgeries in a dimly lit room. Dr. Browning—one of Fistula Foundation’s expert medical advisors—was in the Central African Republic (CAR) to help general surgeons at a mission hospital provide complex care to fistula patients.
In CAR, there are simply not enough trained surgeons who can provide high-quality fistula care, and the unmet need is great. The expertise of a visiting surgeon like Dr. Browning can be the difference between a woman finally receiving life-transforming treatment or continuing to live out her days in isolation.
The conditions at the site were punishing. Beyond the faulty operating table, leaking plumbing quickly drained the hospital’s water tank, forcing the medical team to haul buckets from a nearby spring throughout the day. The overhead light flickered and overheated, so Dr. Browning operated by headlamp, alone.
For half of the operating time, while working on the most difficult-to-reach fistulas, Dr. Browning kneeled on the ground, to get the proper angle for surgery. At every turn, the team adapted, knowing that if they gave up, women who had waited for days, weeks, and even years, would go home heartbroken, and still leaking.
The work was not in vain. With support from people like you, Dr. Browning performed 26 surgeries during his short trip to the CAR, and he will return this fall to help treat another 30 women. Another bright spot: The Lutheran Church, together with Australian charity, the Barbara May Foundation, aims to improve working conditions at the mission hospital by fixing the plumbing and electrical issues at the facility.
Crossing Borders for Care:
Dr. Shershah’s training mission into Taliban-controlled Afghanistan
To bring care to women who need it, we often need to get creative. In 2024, Dr. Yousuf Khan of our partner Cure Hospital emphasized the urgent need for fistula treatment beyond the capital city of Kabul. Nangarhar Regional Hospital in Jalalabad—a government-run obstetrics and gynecology facility serving an area of more than 1.5 million people—was identified as a promising site for expansion, so long as surgeons there were provided with specialized training.
But there was one glaring problem. Taliban travel restrictions and the persecution of non-Muslims made it impossible to send in most of our certified trainers (most of whom are African surgeons). As a Pakistani Muslim fistula surgeon with decades of expertise, Dr. Shershah Syed was uniquely positioned to make the journey others could not.
In July 2025, Dr. Shershah traveled to Nangarhar to provide hands-on training to two local surgeons, two anesthetists, and four nurses at the facility. Now, the surgical team can safely perform simple fistula repairs and appropriately refer more complex cases to Cure Hospital.
This cross-border collaboration expands access to care in underserved regions, and is testament to the “no woman left behind” ethos.
Published October 21, 2025