Why Do We Work in Cameroon?

Cameroon, a developing country, lacks adequate maternal health services and particularly emergency obstetric care for its population — particularly women living in rural areas. And because Cameroon has one of the highest fertility rates in the world, obstetric fistula is highly prevalent.

What You Help Us Do In Cameroon

We're helping fund:

• Fistula surgery treatment
• Fistula surgery training
• Refurbishing and equipping an operating theater
• Community outreach (patient recruitment)

Where:
University Teaching Hospital in Youande

How much funding have we granted?
$57,000 in FY2010

Who's our partner?
Woman and Health Alliance International

How will this help women in Cameroon?
On a broad scale, Cameroon faces an overburdened and understaffed health system resulting in particularly limited coverage of services for conditions considered to be "non-emergency" in nature, such as obstetric fistula. The University Teaching Hospital in Youande is in fact the country's only fistula care center. Our WAHA colleagues report to us that a two-year study conducted to assess the need for fistula patient treatment revealed that 60% of patients had lived with obstetric fistula for more than five years at the time of surgery treatment. Furthermore, we learned that broad public awareness is disappointingly lacking — even though fistula treatment is indeed available at this Hospital facility. We’re helping turn that around. And now significantly more women in Cameroon are receiving high-quality fistula care.