Over 90 Women Seeks Fistula Treatment At Bwaila Camp

Over 90 women flock to Bwaila Fistula Care Centre in Lilongwe for Obstetric Fistula operation as Fistula Camp begins at the Hospital.

The Camp is expected to run for ten days. But Dr. Ennet Chipungu an Obstetrician and Gynecologist who is a Fistula Surgeon at Bwaila Fistula Care Centre says doctors are ready to do operations to all women.  

Chipungu says two experienced surgeons are in the country to operate on complicated cases of obstetric fistula which local surgeons like herself could not operate on.

The Surgeon has also revealed that during the first day of the camp on Sunday, doctors have screened a woman who has lived with the problem since 1984. She said the problem is huge in the country because the hospital is operating up to 50 women every month and is seeing repairing women who have lived with the problem for 40 years. 

“We have recently operated on woman who lived with the problem since 1971 and another who lived with the problem since 1960’s. This means there are a lot of women with the problem out there. And may be these women that are coming now did not know that it was possible to get treatment.” Said Dr. Chipungu

Meanwhile, the National Coordinator for Freedom from Fistula Foundation, Margaret Moyo said was happy with the response and expressed hope that this camp will definitely assist a lot of women in a short period of time.

“This is really an overwhelming response.” Said Moyo who also expressed readiness to receive more women

Moyo has encouraged women with the problem to come to the hospital at any time “Even after the camp, we will continue to do operations. We are a facility solely dedicated for obstetric fistula repair, so any time the woman walks in she is welcome.” 

She said the operations are being done at no cost and a fistula patient stays in the hospital depending on the complexity of the operation. But said two to three weeks is the minimum period for simple case.

“We want to encourage women, that fistula is repairable. And we urge everyone to pass this information. Please fish out women living with the problem. Encourage them to come to Bwaila Fistula Care Centre so that they don’t miss this opportunity” pleaded Moyo 

Obstetric Fistula is an abnormal connection between the bladder and or therectum and the vagina which result in the continuous leakage of urine and or feaces  through the vagina following obstructed labour.

The Camp has been organized with support from United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) – Malawi, Freedom from Fistula Foundation and Ministry of Health.

Obstetric Fistula Repair Camp At Bwaila Hospital

• women having the condition encouraged to come for repair
• The operation to be done at no cost

Bwaila Fistula Care Centre

The Bwaila Fistula Care Centre, this year's host of UNFPA Fistula Camp has urged women having Obstetric Fistula condition to come for operation during the camp period starting on 27th September.

Fistula camps are held to allow more women having the condition to get repaired in a specified period by number of surgeons who fly in the country to support resident surgeons and clinical officers.

“We are hosting this year’s UNFPA camp and we are ready" confirmed National Coordinator for Freedom from Fistula Foundation, Margaret Moyo, and also confirmed that with assistance from UNFPA "Surgeons are coming from outside Malawi and we already have our own resident surgeons and clinical officers to do fistula operations.”

Moyo explains that, for the first two weeks of the camp, the operations will be done at Bwaila Hospital in Fistula Care Centre found in Lilongwe just behind the Minibus depot.

While encouraging women having the problem to come for repair operation, Moyo says the operation is free.

She has since appealed to all people of good will to inform and encourage women living with the condition to hurry for the opportunity.

She also encouraged women with the condition to go to their nearest hospitals for screaning their condition and to Bwaila Fistula Centre for operation.

These camps are sponsored by UNFPA have previously been conducted at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre and in Mangochi. This year Bwaila Fistula Care Centre expects to repair not less than 100 women.



Obstetric Fistula is an abnormal connection between the bladder and or the rectum and the vagina which result in the continuous leakage of urine and or feaces  through the vagina following obstructed labour.




Figures shows many women die in the process, up to 4.1% of maternal death is attributed to prolonged obstructed labour  in Malawi. If the mother survived it is usually the prize of a dead baby and an obstetric fistula with its social consequences.



Anecdotal evidence reveals Obstetric Fistula prevalence in Malawi is estimated to 20 thousand women living with fistula and this means it is a big problem.

Media Is Strategic Partner In Fighting Fistula

The Ministry of Health in Malawi says media is a very important partner in fight against Obstetric Fistula.

Funny Kachale

Speaking on Thursday during a day long Media Orientation workshop on Obstetric Fistula, Director of Reproductive Health in the Ministry of Health, Funny Kachale underlined that the media is a very important partner in health and that training them on the topic was a right step in ensuring that media is spreading to the public accurate information about Fistula.

Kachale: Media is important partner 

"Fistula is a big problem for us here in Malawi. And knowing that Media is our partner in implementing health services, we know that they are able to reach out to the communities with various forms of messages.

"So, we know that once we give them right information through this orientation workshop, they will be able to assist us in creating awareness so that women and men hear the messages and know available services and those with condition should be able to come to the hospitals to get repaired."

Grace Hiwa with a female pelvis model, demonstrating how Obstetric Fistula occurs 

She also explained that Government has put in place number of strategies to end the problem.

Kachale mentioned number of strategies; encouraging women to attend antenatal care at an early stage, encouraging nurses to monitor progress of labour, discourage women from delivering at Traditional Birth Attendants (TBA), as ways government is using to preventing women from developing Obstetric Fistula

Hiwa explaining how Fistula develops

Kachale further explains that Government is also carrying out number of efforts to assist women who have fistula "We are training health workers cadre of Clinical Officers to repair Fistula and operating fistula through Obstetric Camps that we do twice a year."  

She therefore encouraged the media practitioners to prop up efforts in ending Obstetric Fistula in the country by informing the public the availability of services which repair women with the condition available in all hospitals and at Bwaila Fistula centre

Dorothy Nyasulu: UNDP consider media as strategic partner 

Dorothy Nyasulu-Assistant Representative at UNFPA said UNFPA consider media as a very strategic partner in access to information on sexual reproductive health which includes Obstetric Fistula.

She noted that many people in the country rely on media to access to correct and adequate information. She therefore said it was necessary to train the media on Fistula as a way of addressing the problem

"From this training, we want a correct information on Obstetric Fistula to continuously go out to the public." She said

Obstetric Fistula is one of the most serious and tragic childbirth injuries leading to a hole between the birth canal and bladder or rectum caused by prolonged (over six hours), obstructed labour. It leaves women leaking urine and faeces and often leads to  depression and social isolation due to smell that comes with the condition.

The workshop was organised by the Ministry of Health with support from UNFPA, Freedom from Fistula Foundation of Bwaila Centre and AMREF health Africa.