USAID/Ethiopia Contributes More Than $500,000 for Fistula Prevention and Treatment in the Amhara Region

June 27, 2006
No. 17/06

Addis Ababa (U.S. Embassy) -- Ambassador Vicki Huddleston, Chargé d’Affaires of the United States Embassy traveled to Bahir Dar this week to officially inaugurate a Fistula Project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID/Ethiopia).  USAID/Ethiopia has contributed more than $500,000 (roughly 4.4 million birr) for the prevention and treatment of obstetric fistula in the Amhara Region. 
Under this project, the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital and IntraHealth (a U.S.-based non governmental organization affiliated with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) work together to institute a continuum of care for fistula patients in the Bahir Dar area.  The Bahir Dar Fistula Center, opened in 2005, is focused on the repair of fistula.  IntraHealth is supporting the work of the Fistula Center by providing communities with services at the health-center level that include fistula prevention, identification, screening, and pre- and post-treatment care.

The Woreta Health Center was recently renovated by IntraHealth.  It now has room to house three patients at a time while awaiting fistula operations.  In addition to the Woreta Health Center, IntraHealth has also renovated fistula pre-treatment areas for Health Centers in Dangla and Adet.  Fifteen health posts in the area will also participate in community level work in the project.

The inauguration ceremony, held at Woreta Health Center in the Amhara Region, also included a visit to the Bahir Dar Fistula Center, to signify the importance of coordinated partnerships in tackling public health challenges.  Speaking at the ceremony, Ambassador Vicki J. Huddleston recognized the successful collaboration between the Ministry of Health and the United States, through USAID/Ethiopia.  She congratulated IntraHealth International and the Fistula Hospital for their work in addressing the problem of obstetric fistula and for the successful start up of the program.

The program is designed to bring about behavioral change at all levels around maternal health, obstetric fistula care, and pre- and post-fistula treatment.  This collaboration will contribute significantly to improving women’s health and status in three woredas of Amhara region and in Bahir Dar by increasing access for fistula patients to treatment and care. 
In Ethiopia, where about 2.9 million women give birth a year, about 8,700 mothers will develop obstetric fistula.  Although the real figure is unknown, it is estimated that about 100,000 obstetric fistula patients in rural Ethiopia are living without treatment. 

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