How Obstetric Fistula is Turning Malawian Women to Outcasts.
Women suffering from obstetric fistula in Malawi received free medical care to reverse their condition during the country's Fistula Week. Between Oct. 12 and 18, the Malawian government, with technical and financial assistance from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), treated more than 130 destitute women who have no or little access to health care services. Lausi Adamu, from Makanjira in Malawi's lake district of Mangochi, who does not know her exact age, has suffered from fistula for the last 25 years. Her affliction came to an end last week, when she received an operation free of charge to stop her ailment. Adamu told IPS reporter Pilirani Semu-Banda about her life with the disease as she recuperated in hospital after the operation. How did you develop fistula? It was 25 years ago, when I was in labour for three days while giving birth to my first and only child at home. I received no medical care throughout pregnancy, and it was only my mother who was with me during ...