Ethiopian women fight fistula with determination

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA - MARCH 22: Surgeon Fekadu Aynachew and his colleagues have been caring for patients at a fistula hospital in Ethiopia. Many visibly withdrawn and painfully shy young women are resting on the benches of the waiting room of the hospital, secluded from the hustle and bustle of the capital Addis Ababa. They all suffer from fistula, a disease caused during childbirth which results in the loss of bladder or rectum control. The Hamlin Fistula Hospital, built in 1974, is Ethiopia’s first specialized fistula hospital. Obstetric fistula is caused by a long and obstructed labor without timely access to medical assistance, or a surgical error, said Aynachew, who is also medical director at the facility. “It results in an abnormal opening between the birth canal and the bladder or rectum. And consequently the inability to control urine or feces.’’ The condition is life-threatening and the treatment lifelong. In all cases, body fluids are rerouted to a Stoma bag attached to the patient’s body, which is changed every three to seven days.“Among those treated, very few can give birth,” he said. According to World Health Organization (WHO), annually between 50,000 and 100,000 women are affected by obstetric fistula. More than 2 million young women live with untreated obstetric fistula in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the WHO estimates. In Ethiopia, each year about 9,000 cases of fistula occur, mostly among uneducated, poor, and rural women, and girls who have been forced into early marriages. In a national health survey, the Ethiopian Health Ministry said the proportion of births in health facilities has risen significantly, from 6 percent in 2000 to 28 percent in 2016. While the disease was eradicated a century ago in the developed world, Ethiopia still has a long way to go, Aynachew said.Asrebeb Yalew, 25, and Meron Ali, 27, are two of the 80 fistula patients seeking treatment at the hospital. (Footage by Mohammed Abdu Abdulbaqi/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)