[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 168 (Wednesday, November 19, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2335]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      SENSE OF THE CONGRESS RESOLUTION TO COMBAT OBSTETRIC FISTULA

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                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 18, 2003

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to introduce a Sense of the 
Congress resolution which will draw attention to a tragedy which 
affects thousands of women around the world each year.
  Obstetric fistula is a major pregnancy-related complication. It 
occurs when a woman is in obstructed and prolonged labor without 
medical help. The prolonged pressure of the baby's head against the 
mother's pelvis cuts off the blood supply to the soft tissues 
surrounding her bladder, rectum, and vagina. Because of the prolonged 
and difficult labor, the baby usually dies. However, if the mother 
survives, the physical and emotional consequences are devastating. The 
injured tissue soon rots away, leaving a perforation, or fistula which 
causes the woman to lose control over urination and/or bowel function. 
Because of a lack of understanding about the cause and treatment of 
fistulas, women who are fistula sufferers are often abandoned by their 
husbands, forced out of their homes, and ostracized by family.
  Although currently virtually unknown in the western world, fistulas 
were once common in the United States and Europe before the advent of 
widespread maternal healthcare and hospital births. The current 
estimates of one million fistula sufferers may be very conservative. 
Actual sufferers may number over 3 million throughout the developing 
world. This suffering can be readily ameliorated with reconstructive 
surgery. Fistula surgical repair has up to a 90 percent success rate 
and ranges in cost from $100-$400. Although this surgery is inexpensive 
by American standards, for women in the developing world, this cost is 
prohibitive. Even if the surgery is affordable, many women in 
developing countries are either unaware of treatment options or unable 
to access treatment.
  A recent report, Obstetric Fistula Needs Assessment: Findings from 
Nine African Countries, commissioned by the United Nations Population 
Fund (UNFPA) details fistula occurrence in nine countries in sub-
Saharan Africa: Benin, Chad, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, 
Uganda and Zambia. There are currently 35 hospitals in the 
aforementioned countries which have the capacity to conduct fistula 
surgery, but are without the financial resources.
  The United States House of Representatives should address this issue. 
To that end, I am introducing a Sense of the Congress Resolution which 
acknowledges the need of the U.S. government to take steps to end the 
needless suffering of these women.
  I request that my colleagues support this bill.

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