Niger

Niger is home to some of the highest risk factors for obstetric fistula, including the world’s highest birth rate and one of the highest rates of adolescent marriage.

Why We Work in Niger

Niger is a large country covered by a harsh desert terrain. In 2018, it ranked dead last in the UN Human Development Index, a composite indicator of the development potential of the world’s 188 countries, combining life expectancy, education, and per capita income data.

Women in Niger are at particular risk for childbirth complications such as obstetric fistula due to broad socio-economic pressures. Female literacy rates are at 30%, and Niger’s fertility rate—at nearly seven children per woman—is the highest in the world. Early marriage and home deliveries are also common, resulting in one of the highest  maternal mortality rates in the world.  

A substantial backlog of fistula patients exists throughout the country.

What You Help Us Do

We are investing in the following areas to build Niger’s in-country medical services and provide life-transforming surgery to as many women as possible:

Meet Our Partners

We identify local surgical teams in Niger already successfully treating women with fistula—and then work to amplify their efforts.

Who are our current partners?

Danja Fistula Center

  • Location: Danja
  • Partner since: 2024
Who are our past partners?

Kirker African Medical Relief Association (KAMRA)

  • Location: Mainé-Soroa
  • Partner In: 2012 – 2013

Women and Health Alliance International (WAHA International)

  • Location: Zinder and Niamey
  • Partner In: 2010

Worldwide Fistula Fund

  • Location: Danja
  • Partner In: 2011 – 2013
How much funding have we granted?

Below are funding totals since the start of each partnership.

Current Partners

  • Danja Fistula Center: $151,250

Past Partners

  • Kirker African Medical Relief Association (KAMRA): $52,515
  • Women and Health Alliance International (WAHA International): $165,200
  • Worldwide Fistula Fund: $150,000

 

 

News from the Field

What Life Is Like In The Worst Country For Girls  •  November 01, 2016
Show more Show less
Huffington Post shares the story of a 13 year old girl named Ramatou, who lives in Niger, which was recently named the worst country for girls in a report released...
Huffington Post shares the story of a 13 year old girl named Ramatou, who lives in Niger, which was recently named the worst country for girls in a report released by Save the Children. In Niger, child marriage, adolescent fertility rates, and pregnancy complications such as obstetric fistula are some of the harsh realities facing young girls. Every day, Ramatou, 13, starts off her morning by sweeping the backyard...
Meet Zeinabou From Niger  •  January 30, 2015
Show more Show less
Zeinabou comes from a village 100 miles north of Danja, Niger. She was married and became pregnant while still in her teens. As is the local custom, Zeinabou planned to...
Zeinabou comes from a village 100 miles north of Danja, Niger. She was married and became pregnant while still in her teens. As is the local custom, Zeinabou planned to deliver her baby at home because maternity services are not easily accessible. And since this was her first delivery, custom also dictated that she leave her husband and move back with her parents in order to be under her mother’s care. When the time finally came to deliver, her labor was obstructed -- the baby would not fit through her pelvis and she remained in labor for days.
Where Young Women Find Healing and Hope  •  July 13, 2013
Show more Show less
They straggle in by foot, donkey cart or bus: humiliated women and girls with their heads downcast, feeling ashamed and cursed, trailing stink and urine. Some were married off at...
They straggle in by foot, donkey cart or bus: humiliated women and girls with their heads downcast, feeling ashamed and cursed, trailing stink and urine. Some were married off at 12 or 13 years old and became pregnant before their malnourished bodies were ready. All suffered a devastating childbirth injury called an obstetric fistula that has left them incontinent, leaking urine and sometimes feces through their vaginas.

Thank you for visiting Fistula Foundation!

Your web browser is out of date. Please Upgrade your browser or Install Google Chrome Frame to experience this site.