Challenge of Maternal Health Care.

 Unnatural communication between walls separating women’s reproductive and excretory organs.  Result –Death of baby and Total incontinence of urine and/or faeces.  Cause –Prolonged unrelieved obstructed labour.

 O.F- devastating but preventable condition primarily affecting young,poor and commonly uneducated woman in low resource settings.  These women lack means to access emergency obstetric care(….Ceaserian section).

 Women are constantly wet with leaking urine and often develop genital sores’infections and offensive odour.  Uni/bilateral foot drop limiting routine activity due to spinal nerve damage.  Abandonement by husbands and family  Ostracisation by community.

 General estimates:A tleast 2 million women live with obstetric fistula in the developing world,and more than new cases occur each year.

 Poverty  Malnutrition  Limited access to maternal health care  Stunted growth  Culture of early marriages and pregnancy

 Reconstructive surgery can mend the injury.  Success rates as high as 90 % for less complex cases.  Average cost of fistula treatment is $300.

 Health care systems fail to provide accessible,quality maternal health care,including family planning,skilled care at birth,basic and comprehensive emergency obstetric care and affordable treatment of fistula.  The key to ending obstetric fistula is to prevent it from occurring in the first place.

 Tackling underlying social and economic causes.  Empowering women and girls.  Delaying marriage and childbirth.

 Project by UNFPA in 47 countries.  Overall goal is to make the condition as rare in Africa,Asia and Arab states as it is in North America and Europe.  Preventing fistula from occurring.  Treating affected women.  Renewing hopes and dreams of those suffering from the condition.

  work/user/Zambia%20OF%20Needs%20 Assessment.pdf work/user/Zambia%20OF%20Needs%20 Assessment.pdf  tetric_fistula/facts/en/index9.html tetric_fistula/facts/en/index9.html