Provider Perspectives

The Fistula Care project works with dedicated surgical teams around the world who care for women with fistula. This page collects some of their stories about the work they do and the women they serve.

Halima made an extraordinary journey from fistula survivor to midwife in Darfur, Sudan.

Dr. Ladan-Ibrahim Hassan discovered a mentally unstable woman with fistula living in his office when he first came to Kebbi Hospital in Nigeria. She is just one of the many women who he has repaired in over twenty years of providing fistula surgery.

Dr. Saad Idris got his start in fistula surgery when a grassroots women’s organization successfully advocated for doctors to be sent for training in fistula repair. Dr. Saad recently was named Commissioner of Health for the State of Zamfara in Nigeria. He is committed to continuing to carve out time to provide fistula repair surgery.

Dr. Steve Arrowsmith has been a fistula surgeon ever since is first visit to Africa in 1988. He explains that it is the courageous and strong women who inspire him to continue his work, and is committed to training other fistula surgeons to understand the philosophy and care that fistula repair work requires.

Dr. Sunday Adeoye is a fistula surgeon in Ebonyi State, Nigeria, where the Fistula Care Project has recently expanded. He is grateful for the opportunity to make a difference in women's lives and see their dignity restored.

Dr. Maura Lynch is a dedicated fistula surgeon working at Kitovu Hospital in Uganda, a site that is supported by the Fistula Care Project. See here for USAID's March 2009 health spotlight that celebrates Dr. Lynch as a woman who makes a difference.  

Dr. Joseph Ruminjo is the Clinical Director for the Fistula Care Project.  See here for an interview he gave in November 2006 about his experiences caring for traumatic fistula survivors.

Listen to our colleagues from Uganda giving their perspectives on the work that they do and the women they serve:

To select a video, place your mouse over the video, and a row of video icons will appear. Move right or left to scroll through the videos in this set, or use the right/left arrows to jump to another set of videos. Then click on the video image to begin playing it. There are 6 videos altogether.