New Bill to Fund UNFPA to Fight Obstetric Fistula

February 13, 2004: New legislation before Congress would give UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund strength to combat the horrific scourge of obstetric fistula in Africa but would not collide with Bush administration concerns over the agency’s work in China.

The measure, introduced Feb. 13 by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), would appropriate $34 million strictly for UNFPA’s use in preventing, treating and repairing obstetric fistulas, which afflict more than two million poor women, mostly in Africa. The amount, about 16 percent of UNFPA’s budget for work in 150 countries, equals the sum President Bush withheld last year in response to unfounded allegations that UNFPA was complicit to a policy of forced abortions and sterilizations in China. Maloney said the legislation was a compromise effort that would allow UNFPA to resume its lifesaving work in the developing world while leaving the administration sanctions over China in place.

An obstetric fistula is an opening between the vagina and the bladder or rectum or both, caused when a pregnant woman suffers prolonged and obstructed labor during delivery. The baby usually dies, and the mother’s resulting incontinence is uncontrollable and often leads to social ostracism, infection, permanent disability and an early death. Once common worldwide, fistula has been all but eliminated in the developed world by education and skilled medical care before and during delivery. The damage can usually be repaired by surgery, but the procedure is delicate and not widely available in Africa, where the condition is most prevalent. UNFPA supports education and health care programs for women, training for birth attendants in recognizing and dealing with obstructed labor, and clinics and hospitals where victims are treated and surgeons are trained in repairing fistulas.

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