International Day of End Obstetric Fistula Date in the current year: May 23, 2024

International Day of End of Obstetric Fistula was established by the UN General Assembly on March 5, 2003. That year the United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA) launched a campaign to end fistulas, that is now present in 50 countries across Asia, Arab region and Africa.

Obstetric fistula is a medical condition, when a hole (fistula) develops between the rectum and vagina or the bladder and vagina. This condition is curable, but women living in poor countries don't have a proper medical service. This leads to different physiological consequences, like losing child during pregnancy, bad smell (due to leakage of urine, feces and blood), infections. Apart from physical condition, obstetric fistula influences women's social life. They can not perform their family roles, they are divorced or abandoned by their husbands, ridiculed by friends, disowned by family and even isolated by health workers.

It's generally accepted that about 3.5 million women live with obstetric fistula. About 100,000 cases develop each year. International Day of End Obstetric Fistula should raise public awareness of this condition and intensify actions towards its ending.