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“After giving birth, I developed a fistula and my life was turned upside down,” said Khady at her home in Senegal.

Obstetric fistula is a tear to the birth canal, bladder, or rectum that causes severe physical and psychological pain. It is typically caused by prolonged or obstructed labor during childbirth.

Girls who give birth at too young an age, when their bodies are not yet ready, are especially vulnerable to this traumatic birth injury.

“For almost 40 years, my feces mixed with my urine and was constantly leaking. I lost friends and was no longer invited to christenings or other ceremonies,” said Khady.

In addition to the discomfort and subsequent infections the condition can lead to, women and girls with obstetric fistula are also often stigmatized and abandoned by their families, partners, and communities. Unable to work, their slide into poverty, isolation, and extreme vulnerability can be all-too swift.

Powered by generous gifts from donors, UNFPA is supporting thousands of women like Khady to help them gradually recover and reintegrate back into their communities. After six cost-free repair surgeries and with consistent follow-up care, Khady has even managed to set up a small business selling sweets and basic groceries from her home.

“ I have my life back ,” she told UNFPA.

This is just one example of the care you’re delivering when you make a humanitarian gift. Will you deliver lifesaving care to survivors of obstetric fistula across the world? [[link removed]]

DELIVER LIFESAVING CARE [[link removed]]

Fistulas are almost nonexistent in communities with access to basic emergency obstetric care.

But even though it can be relatively easily avoided with the assistance of trained midwives or repaired by obstetric surgeons, half a million women and girls around the world are estimated to be living with fistula, with tens of thousands of new cases developing every year.

Beyond being a pressing public health issue, the fact that so many women and girls are at risk of developing obstetric fistula is a barrier to their human right to live with dignity and in good health.

Another woman told us that a neighbor had been suffering from fistula in secret, ashamed to tell anyone or ask for help. The neighbor was stigmatized by older members of the community and rejected by her family. “The grandmothers said she was cursed…Then her husband abandoned her. We didn't see her any more.”

UNFPA is a global leader in the campaign to end fistula through advocacy, prevention, treatment, and social reintegration for survivors.

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Thanks to support from our generous donors, UNFPA has provided surgical care for more than 300 women living with fistulas in Senegal since 2018. Each patient was consistently monitored and, once they had recovered, participated in capacity-building sessions on personal finance and livelihoods skills.

Will you help deliver more care to women and girls who need it most? Make a gift today to deliver lifesaving care to survivors of obstetric fistula: [[link removed]]

Thank you for helping us end obstetric fistula, once and for all.

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