Meet Michael Joy
In Nigeria, Michael Joy’s life took a tragic turn when a joyful pregnancy ended in an unimaginable loss. After prolonged, obstructed labor without access to quality maternal healthcare, she developed an obstetric fistula, leaving her with uncontrollable urine leakage, social rejection, and deep emotional trauma.
“For years, I believed I was punished by God,” Michael Joy recalls. “I was constantly worried about how I could live among people. It was a very tough time in my life.”
After receiving specialized surgical care through EngenderHealth, Michael Joy regained her health and sense of self. Her recovery marked the beginning of a new chapter: she regained confidence, reconnected with her community, and now lives free from shame.
“After the surgery, my recovery brought happiness and joy to my heart and a huge transformation to my life…Now I am free,” she says.
Her story reminds us that obstetric fistula is entirely preventable and treatable, and that timely, compassionate care can restore lives.
Why Fistula Care Matters
Obstetric fistula is a devastating childbirth injury that affects women physically, socially, and economically. It occurs when women experience prolonged, obstructed labor without access to timely, high-quality maternal healthcare. In these situations, babies may not survive, and women are left with a hole in the birth canal that causes uncontrollable leakage of urine or feces.
The consequences extend far beyond health: women with fistula are often stigmatized, isolated from families and communities, and may lose livelihoods or educational opportunities.
Thanks to skilled doctors, hospitals, and emergency obstetric care, obstetric fistula has been virtually eliminated in high-income countries. The women who still experience fistula today do so largely because they lack access to these essential services. With the right care, fistula is entirely preventable and fully treatable.
Fistula care allows women to return to their families, communities, and livelihoods, while advancing broader goals of maternal health and rights-based care. Ensuring access to prevention, treatment, and reintegration is critical to ending fistula as a public health issue in Nigeria and across the world.
What Your Support Makes Possible
With your support, EngenderHealth is positioned to provide comprehensive, forward-looking fistula care globally, including:
- Surgical and nonsurgical repair: Restoring women’s health and independence through life-changing treatment.
- Holistic reintegration: Counseling, skills training, and community support to rebuild confidence, livelihoods, and social participation.
- Prevention and education: Supporting communities with information on safe childbirth practices, stigma reduction, and family planning.
- Healthcare strengthening: Training providers, equipping facilities, and advancing quality care systems to sustain fistula services for the long term.
- Advocacy and awareness: Working with policymakers, institutions, and communities to ensure women’s access to rights-based reproductive and maternal health services.
Your support ensures that women living with fistula in Nigeria and across the world receive timely, high-quality care—and that communities have the knowledge, resources, and systems in place to prevent future cases.
You Can Be Part of the Change
When you give to EngenderHealth, you help women like Michael Joy reclaim their lives—one surgery, one conversation, and one community at a time. Together, we can restore health and hope for women living with obstetric fistula in Nigeria and across the world, ensuring that no woman is left behind.