Ending fistula,
for good

An estimated 500,000 women still suffer from obstetric fistula. It’s time to change that.

Maternal Dignity Project envisions a world where every mother can give birth safely. We partner with African-led organizations to treat women living with fistula and to prevent these devastating injuries before they happen.

Fistula survivor holding baby outside of Terrewode Maternity

Fistula is preventable. And it’s treatable. Where it still exists, it’s one of the clearest signs that maternal health systems are failing women.

How obstetric fistula happens

A preventable childbirth injury that no woman should face.

Image depicting pregnant woman experiencing pregnancy difficulties

Labor becomes obstructed

The baby cannot pass safely through the pelvis due to its size or position, making a C-section necessary for a safe and healthy delivery.

Image depicting pregnant woman experiencing pregnancy difficutlies

Pressure damages tissue

When the mother cannot get a safe, timely C-section, the sustained pressure of the baby’s head cuts off blood flow to surrounding tissue.

Image depicting Fistula

A fistula forms

This pressure weakens and damages the tissue, creating an opening between the birth canal and the bladder, rectum, or both.

How We End Fistula

Care for the whole woman. Prevent the injury.
End fistula.

Across five countries, our partners provide holistic care, repairing fistula and other childbirth injuries, supporting women as they reconnect with their families and communities, and leading efforts to prevent these devastating injuries from happening in the first place.

A medical team tend to a fistula patient

Treatment

Partners provide expert surgical repair and physical therapy, so women can heal and begin their recovery.

Woman smiling in front of sewing machine

Reintegration

Recovery continues with counseling, economic training, and pathways back into family, community, and daily lives.

Smiling mother in a blue patterned dress holds a laughing toddler on a hospital bed at Terrewode Women's Community Hospital in Uganda.

Prevention

Our partners train health workers and share information so women can recognize the danger signs and get care in time.

Fistula survivor talking to doctors in hospital bed

Local leadership.
Global partnership. Long-term change.

Maternal Dignity Project invests in trusted, African-led organizations that understand their communities, know what women need, and are building solutions designed to last.

Care for the whole woman is about far more than surgery. It means helping a woman recover physically, return to her community, regain economic independence, and shape what comes next.

Fistula survivors become advocates, entrepreneurs, educators, and leaders in their own communities. By investing in whole person care and the local leaders carrying it forward, we pave the way to a future where women can heal with dignity and fewer women ever have to face the pain of obstetric fistula.

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I was taken for treatment, and I could not believe that, for once, I could put on a pant minus the rags I used for the sake of not leaking urine.
It was a miracle.

— Mwajuma

Kenya · Fistula survivor and community advocate

Our Partner Network

Local leadership across five African countries.

Select a highlighted country on the map to explore its partner story.

Maternal Dignity Project partner countries in Africa Interactive map highlighting Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Niger and Uganda.
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01 / 05 Burkina Faso
Local Partner

ARENA Medical Center

In Burkina Faso, Dr. Itengre Ouedraogo built the country's first dedicated fistula center.

ARENA brings surgery, reintegration, prevention, advocacy, and medical training together under one roof, strengthening care while building local capacity for the future.

Burkina Faso

Impact at a glance

Explore Burkina Faso

Stories of health & hope.

Behind every statistic is a woman, a family, and a story of resilience.