The Danja Fistula Center (Centre de
Fistule de Danja) opened its doors in February 2012 to serve the women
suffering incontinence due to obstetrical fistula. The vision was to provide
comprehensive, compassionate care for this unique population of under-served
women.
Obstetrical fistula is the result of
an obstructed labor where the pressure of a baby’s head cuts off the blood
supply to its mother’s internal organs. Usually the baby does not survive this
difficult, long labor so a stillborn baby is delivered oftentimes after several
days of labor. The woman’s tissues die
from not receiving blood, they slough, and a hole develops between organs that
normally do not communicate. The result is the woman uncontrollably leaks urine
or stool.
Surgical repair of this hole is
possible. Most surgeries performed in Niger’s hospitals are for urgent or
emergency cases. Women suffering from fistula need an elective surgery that is
not considered a priority, so they often wait a long time to receive surgery. Many women do not have the money to pay for
this surgical repair. Danja Fistula Center opened with a desire to provide surgery
only for fistula patients at no charge to the women.
The founders of DFC believed that
100,000 to 200,000 women in Niger suffer from obstetrical fistula. They
developed a multi-tiered program to tackle this perceived epidemic of fistula
in Niger. In addition to providing the surgical repair for women, a good deal
of effort was invested in a prevention program which provided education in
rural villages concerning the causes of fistula and providing transport for
women in prolonged labor. The reintegration program offers 3 months of vocational
skills training to women waiting for surgery or healing after surgery to teach
them a skill as embroidery, sewing, knitting and literacy that can benefit them
financially. This reintegration program also provides follow-up visits in their
homes to see how well they are adapting and if they are using their new skills.
DFC is gradually becoming a training center for health professionals desiring
to learn about fistula surgery. Our surgeon provides field data to
international organizations and researchers involved fistula care to increase
the body of knowledge about fistula care. Our raison d’être depends on women
coming for surgical repair so another vital aspect of our program is recruiting
new patients from all over Niger.
Since the
beginning DFC has found it challenging to recruit patients needing fistula
repair. Recent studies show that each year approximately 625 women develop
obstetrical fistulas in Niger so in reality fewer than 30,000 women live in
Niger with fistula. DFC has adapted to this reality by allowing our surgeon to
provide fistula surgeries for women whose fistulas have resulted from female
genital cutting, and to provide surgery addressing incontinence problems for
women suffering from prolapse uterus. Our flexibility in offering these
elective surgical interventions for women with incontinence is appreciated
widely. In addition to addressing the need for physical repair, twice a week
our missionary psychologist provides onsite trauma healing groups for women
residing in ‘our village’ to address the unique emotional and mental health
needs of the women.
Danja Fistula Center (DFC) is located
in central Niger.
Since the center is 30 kilometers north of the Nigerian border, many women
cross the border into Niger to seek care at DFC. Other women journey from
remote villages across Niger to reach DFC. The Danja Fistula Center shares its
campus with SIM’s Centre de Santé et Léprologie, a 60 year old medical
institution renowned for providing compassionate care to people suffering from
leprosy. Joining this rich heritage of offering compassionate care in the name
of Christ to the neglected and rejected is part of the legacy that DFC
appreciates at Danja.
