Maseru - Fistula is a serious human rights violation, a reflection of health systems’ failure, and a tragic sign of global social injustice and inequity, said the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem on the International Day to End Obstetric Fistula. The theme of this year’s event is “Leaving no one behind: let us commit to ending fistula now!” She added that the global Sustainable Development Goals are a bold and aspirational call to leave no one behind, especially those most marginalised, forgotten, and voiceless. Dr. Kanem noted that pregnancy and childbirth should be among the happiest of occasions in a woman’s life, but unfortunately, this is not the case for many of the world’s poorest and most marginalised women. Dr. Kanem said obstetric fistula, a childbirth injury caused by prolonged, obstructed labour without prompt medical attention, is silently robbing millions of women and girls of their health, hope and dignity. She pointed out that the condition often leaves the woman with chronic incontinence and usually results in the death of the child. She highlighted that many fistula survivors, like Amina Mba from Cameroon, are girls who become pregnant while still physically immature. She stated that after being married off as a child, Amina became pregnant at 13 and developed a fistula due to obstructed labour. Dr. Kanem noted that the condition left Amina incontinent, and the stigma left her alone to fend for herself, after being abandoned by her husband and family. She said since 2003, UNFPA, leader of the global Campaign to End Fistula, has, with its partners, supported nearly 100,000 life-transforming surgeries to heal the physical and psychological wounds of fistula survivors. She added that it includes Amina, who was healed last year after living with fistula for seven years, and yet more than two million women and girls worldwide still suffer from the condition. “It is time we end the needless suffering caused by fistula in keeping with the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. Let us commit to putting the furthest behind first and ensure human rights, well-being and dignity for all,” she concluded. An obstetric fistula is a hole between the vagina and rectum or bladder that is caused by prolonged obstructed labour, leaving a woman incontinent of urine or faeces or both. For women with obstructed labour, labour that goes unattended, the labour can last up to six or seven days. Lena