Dear Friends,

THANK YOU. You make our work possible, as a committed supporter of the Worldwide Fistula Fund. Through 2023, our mission impact to address childbirth injuries in 5 countries is clear:

  • 1,874,000+ Community members reached with Prevention and Free Treatment education
  • 5,400+ Free Surgeries and 4,300+ Pelvic floor surgeries/interventions by the first class of 7 Urogynecology Fellows during their training in Ethiopia
  • 3,440+ Fistula survivors completed reintegration-skills training & returned to their communities
  • 1,650+ Fistula survivors running 3,260 Small Businesses, individually and in Solidarity Groups
  • 1,640+ Doctors, Nurses, Health Workers trained in injury prevention & patient identification

It’s not quite the end of first quarter (when grantee Q1 reports are due to WFF), but I wanted to share my discussions with grantees on our monthly zooms so far this year Here’s what our partners are focused on right now:

Burkina Faso

Dr. Itengre and ARENA’s 2024 annual goals, objectives & uses for WFF funding:

  • 100 fistula surgeries & 90 fistula survivors trained in small business/vocational skills
  • 50,000 community members reached through 80 events for prevention and patient identification outreach; Additional 100,000 reached through radio, TV and social media
  • 80 community leaders, 150 health workers trained in prevention and patient identification

This quarter, Dr. Itengre has been collecting data for his research study comparing outcomes for fistula survivors who received holistic care through his dedicated fistula center, ARENA, vs. through a general clinic. His study co-investigator is Dr. Holly Richter, WFF Board Member and The Endowed Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Alabama Birmingham. This study collects patient data pre-treatment and post-holistic care to compare changes in quality of life at multiple intervals. We expect to share superior outcomes through care at ARENA hospital.

Kenya

Sarah Omega & Let’s End Fistula Initiative 2024 annual goals & objectives:

  • 420 women in 22 Solidarity Groups (SG) will successfully manage 90 Group and 1,421 Individual Income Generating Activities (IGAs) by yearend
  • 12 Groups conduct Safe Motherhood outreach education for 19,000 community members
  • 9 Young Champions Fistula Clubs (YCFC) with 108 teacher & student members will conduct fistula prevention outreach and advocacy

Sarah and LEFI held their Spring meeting and retired 10 Regional Representatives to optimize mentors/staffing. Solidarity Groups will now receive 3 years’ maximum support to become self-sustaining. LEFI’s recent program analysis shows some Solidarity Groups become obsolete as individual income activities grow. LEFI is also developing their board and new funding sources.

Niger

Danja Fistula Center (DFC) 2024 annual goals, objectives for WFF funding:

  • 70 Free surgeries & 100 survivors trained in small business/vocational skills (Reintegration)
  • 7,500 community members educated in fistula prevention & treatment awareness

For 2024, DFC will reduce dependency on WFF by broadening their support base with another funder supporting an additional 100 surgeries. Dr. Chelsea Porter received her Level 1 Fistula Surgeon designation from the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) and performs simple fistula surgeries without supervision. DFC Director, Dr. Ryan Porter, is formulating a follow-up outreach strategy to better track women using their reintegration skills to earn income.

Uganda

Alice Emasu and Terrewode’s 2024 annual goals & objectives for WFF funding:

  • 90 Free Surgeries at Terrewode Women’s Community Hospital (TWCH) and with partners
  • 50 fistula survivors trained in small business/vocational skills (Reintegration)
  • 90 survivors in 3 new Solidarity Groups trained for group activities (each already completed individual reintegration program)

Terrewode is completing their 5-year review of running costs and patient service costs for TWCH. Since opening in 2019, they’ve seen an increasing percentage of women suffering from fistula injuries for under 12 months, so they are making progress in the backlog of cases. Terrewode is completing a review of treatment at all Ugandan facilities and submitting a report to the Ministry of Health to inform the national strategy to address childbirth injuries.

Ethiopia

Dr. Zehara and Dr. Mohammed, the final members of the current class, officially graduate from the Urogynecology Fellowship program at Mekelle University on April 18, 2024. All seven (7) Fellows continue to serve women and teach others in Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery at their home institutions. WFF will assess next steps for all Ethiopia programs funded by our recently completed $550,000 Ethiopia Medical Education grant project.

Please allow me to answer any questions and share news of our work directly via email, phone or zoom. Email info@wffund.org with questions or to schedule our time together!

Sincerely,

Soja Orlowski signature

Soja Orlowski
Executive Director, Worldwide Fistula Fund