EngenderHealth Announces New Award to Expand Global Fistula Prevention and Repair

NEW YORK (January 23, 2014)—EngenderHealth has been awarded Fistula Care Plus, a new five-year fistula repair and prevention project, from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). With a project ceiling of $74.49 million, this award will be the largest U.S. government-funded effort to date to focus on fistula, a devastating childbirth injury.

In partnership with the Population Council, the new project will build on, enhance, and expand the work undertaken by the previous Fistula Care project (2007-2013), with a particular emphasis on increasing local sustainability. “Together with our partners, we have helped transform the lives of thousands of women living with fistula. Fistula Care Plus will build on this momentum, working toward sustainable fistula prevention, detection, treatment, and reintegration services. With appropriate resources, awareness, knowledge, and strong health systems, fistula can become a rare event for future generations of African and Asian women,” says Pamela W. Barnes, President and CEO of EngenderHealth.

Under Fistula Care, EngenderHealth worked alongside its partners and local and national governments to support more than 26,000 fistula repair surgeries in 14 countries and trained 22,000 surgeons, nurses, and community health workers to prevent and treat fistula. The project also helped support policy changes that tackled root causes of fistula, including lack of access to family planning and poor access to emergency obstetric care.

Fistula Care Plus will remove barriers that prevent women from accessing prevention and treatment, including alleviating obstacles to transportation and eliminating financial impediments that block access to care. The project will address the enormous backlog of women awaiting life-altering fistula repair, ensuring that they receive timely and quality care from trained providers. In addition to working in collaboration with ministries of health and nongovernmental organizations at the country level, other partners will include Dimagi, TERREWODE, Direct Relief, The Fistula Foundation, and the Maternal Health Task Force.

About EngenderHealth
EngenderHealth is a leading global women’s health organization committed to ensuring that every pregnancy is planned, every child is wanted, and every mother has the best chance at survival. We train health care professionals and partner with governments and communities in more than 20 countries around the world. For more information, visit www.engenderhealth.org.

About USAID
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) administers the U. S. foreign assistance program providing economic and humanitarian assistance in more than 80 countries worldwide. This press release is made possible by the generous support of the American people through USAID. The contents are the responsibility of the Fistula Care Plus project and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.

 

Media contacts:
Kara Dress
212-561-8463
kdress@engenderhealth.org