Jane Mulewa Mwale, 89, is a proud mother of 10 and a grandmother to many. For the last 42 years, her life has been marred with shame and isolation, as a result of living with obstetric fistula, a hole between the birth canal and bladder and/or rectum. “I delivered all my babies at home, and following the birth of my tenth child, I realized that I could not hold my stool or urine. That is when my life took a turn for the worst,” says Jane.
Fistula is caused by prolonged, obstructed labour without access to timely, high-quality medical treatment. It’s hard for Jane to recall what went wrong during the birth of her last born child, but the long and painful journey to treatment is one that she recounts vividly.
“At first I thought I had been bewitched, and later I thought I had contracted HIV. I went to the hospital many times, but no one could tell me what was wrong,” she says. Jane resorted to wearing many layers of clothes at once with the hope of masking the smell, and when this didn’t work, she decided to isolate herself from the community in order to avoid stigma from friends.
In 2023, Jane was listening to the radio when a public service announcement came on. “It was an announcement about a free fistula treatment camp, and the symptoms they listed were exactly what I was suffering from,” she says. Following a screening, she was diagnosed with fistula and underwent reconstructive surgery. Now living free from the condition, Jane has become a champion in her village of Kitise, Makueni County, raising awareness of fistula, and supporting women and girls in the community to access information and care.
As part of this year’s events to mark International Day to End Obstetric Fistula, UNFPA partnered with the County Government of Makueni, Amref Health Africa, Flying Doctors’ Society of Africa, Mpesa Foundation, and Jhpiego to hold a free fistula camp at the Makueni County Referral Hospital. More than 280 patients were screened with 87 admitted for further care. A team of fistula surgeons performed 83 successful fistula repair surgeries, restoring dignity to women and girls who have been living with the condition.
“With only six years left to meet the global goal to End Obstetric Fistula by 2030, as called for by UN Member States, the burden of disease is still unacceptably high,” said UNFPA representative Anders Thomsen. “Investing in trained midwives, quality emergency obstetric and newborn care and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services will bring us closer to the goal.”
The report distributed by the APO Group on behalf of UNFPA Kenya, stated that with support from the UNFPA Maternal and Newborn Health Thematic Fund, thousands of women and girls have been able to access free fistula screening and treatment in Kenya. Fistula survivors have also received reintegration services, including psychological support, skills training and small grants to start businesses. UNFPA also supports the training of health workers, including surgeons, midwives, nurses and community health workers who play a crucial role in treating fistula and preventing its occurrence.
“Fistula repair surgery changed my life,” says Jane. “As a survivor, I can only urge other women with similar conditions to go seek medical attention and not to lose hope as it is never too late.”
GIK/APA
AfDB President briefs African leaders on Bank’s progress in mobilizing financial resources for continent
The President of the African Development Bank Group, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has outlined the Bank’s successes in mobilizing financial resources for the continent’s development needs at the African Union.
Addressing Heads of State and Government at the 6th Mid-Year Coordination Meeting of the AU in Accra, Ghana, Adesina highlighted the Bank’s recent general capital increase from $201 billion to $318 billion, approved by the Board of Governors during its Annual Meetings in Nairobi last May.
The approval will enable Africa’s only AAA-rated financial institution to preserve its status and meet the continent’s urgent and increasing development needs.
Other highlights included joint efforts by the African Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank in developing a new financial model that enables the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights to be channeled through multilateral development banks.
“I am delighted to inform you that following over two years of work, supported by the advocacy of the African Union, we succeeded,” Adesina told the meeting, attended by several heads of state and government and representatives of regional economic communities.
The year began with the African Development Bank successfully launching a globally acclaimed landmark $750 million hybrid capital, the first ever by a multilateral financial institution.
“By so doing, we created a new asset class for investors globally. The hybrid capital will be leveraged four times to allow the Bank to boost its lending capacity,” said Adesina.
He also briefed the leaders about the progress the Bank is making in spearheading global efforts to ensure Africa’s natural wealth is taken into consideration as a measure of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The Africa Financial Stability Mechanism, a Bank initiative to mitigate financial and other exogenous shocks to African economies, has also advanced. The African Union’s committee of 15 Ministers of Finance has approved the framework for the establishment of the mechanism.
Also, to enhance food security, the Bank is launching a $650 million Regional West Africa Rice Development program in collaboration with the Africa Rice Center. The initiative is expected to include one million farmers across 15 countries and produce 53 million tons of rice.
“In five years, West Africa will achieve self-sufficiency in rice. We know we can do it. Our work helped Ethiopia to become self-sufficient in wheat in under four years, turning it into a net wheat-exporting country. What is critical is strong political will,” the Bank Group head said, referencing the Bank’s flagship Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) program.
Adesina briefed the leaders on growing global confidence in the Bank.
“Last week, the African Development Bank was ranked as the most transparent development financial institution in the world by Publish What You Fund for its sovereign operations.” This is in addition to other impressive recognitions for the Bank and its concessional window, the African Development Fund.
He outlined other wins for the institution, including expanding electricity access to over 20 million people over the past five years and partnering with the World Bank to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030.
The Bank’s $20 billion Desert to Power initiative to develop 10,000 megawatts of solar power for 250 million people across 11 countries in the Sahel zone is already delivering results.
“For example, the $890 million Mauritania-Mali Power Interconnection Project, which is part of the Desert to Power initiative, will increase clean energy uptake and electricity access, benefitting 2.7 million people,” he said.
The report distributed by the APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB), stated that during the opening ceremony, the host, Ghana’s President Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo, called for expedited action on plans to achieve the financial stability and economic integration necessary for the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
The African Union Chairperson and President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, announced AU plans to raise about $100 billion to support export-oriented businesses.
He also emphasized the critical need for continued effective coordination between the AU and regional African blocs, for achieving continental integration and the goals of Agenda 2063 to create inclusive and sustainable socio-economic development over 50 years.
GIK/APA