Since 2010, we have provided 15,394 life-transforming surgeries to women in Kenya.

Despite significant development progress in recent decades, maternal health indicators in Kenya remain at disappointing levels. This is particularly true in the many rural parts of Kenya, where the majority of women deliver at home without a skilled birth attendant and far from any emergency obstetric care facilities. This has led to a high rate of obstetric fistula in rural Kenya.

In 2014, Fistula Foundation launched a collaborative network of hospitals to provide year-round fistula care to women in Kenya. We believe this network-of-care model represents the path forward to ending—within a generation—the suffering caused by fistula.  Learn more about our work in Kenya here. 

Since 2009, we have provided 11,689 life-transforming surgeries to women in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Political upheaval and violent unrest have taken a heavy toll on DRC’s healthcare infrastructure. There is also a horrifying use of sexual violence in the country. For these reasons and others, DRC has been called “the worst place on earth to be a woman.”

Over half of the Congolese population lives in rural areas, where health resources are spread thin—and in high demand. Even simply getting to the hospital can be close to impossible, with dirt roads that are completely flooded and impassable for months on end.

Learn about our country-wide treatment network in the DRC that we launched in 2022 to end the suffering caused by fistula within a generation.

Since 2010, we have provided 12,313 life-transforming surgeries to women in Nigeria.

Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country, with over 175 million people. However, it continues to struggle with both poverty and population growth. A 2018 study from the Gates Foundation reported that by 2050, 40 percent of the world’s population living in extreme poverty will come from just two nations: the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Nigeria.

Nigeria also carries the burden of other poor health indicators. It has the world’s highest rate of HIV/AIDS-related deaths, and high rates of maternal and infant mortality. Only 43% of births in the country are attended by a skilled medical professional. It is not surprising, then, that Nigeria also has the world’s heaviest burden of obstetric fistula.

Learn more about our work in Nigeria here. 

Since 2018, we have provided 5,621 life-transforming surgeries to women in Pakistan.

Quality maternal health services remain in short supply in Pakistan. With only 52% of births attended by a skilled medical professional, many women, especially in rural areas, risk serious injury should obstructed labor or other complications arise. A recent study by UNFPA and the Pakistan National Forum on Women’s Health estimates 3,500 cases of obstetric fistula occur in Pakistan every year.

Identifying patients has been difficult. Most women with fistula live in abject poverty, in isolated areas where there is little understanding of fistula and its causes. Many women do not know they are suffering from a treatable medical condition. Compounding these challenges, our partners in Pakistan report difficulty in providing treatment due to a lack of trained and willing surgeons in the country.

Learn about how we are working to build Pakistan’s in-country medical services and provide life-transforming surgery to as many women as possible here.