HDI - Rapid Fistula Prevention (HDI-RFP)

One of our best supervisors travels by camel, here discussing with a village volunteer during monthly supervision. Of course a whole group of people is standing around listening.

Obstructed labor deaths are down by 100%. No woman has died of blocked childbirth (obstructed labor) since May 2008, four months after the project started, though it was formerly the main cause of maternal mortality in this large area. Obstetric fistula cases are also down significantly. (provisional data through May 2010)

	Photo: HDI/A.Seim

Small, nimble, innovative, HDI has for more than 19 years leveraged expertise into permanently improved dignity, health, and economic advantage “for millions of people at a time”, using modest funds to do so.

After major contributions against Guinea worm (99.93% eradicated and being finished off) and “elephantiasis”, HDI is rapidly preventing obstetric fistula using a community-based Rapid Fistula Prevention (HDI-RFP) approach. Traditional obstetric fistula prevention strategies are great! But they’ll take a generation.

HDI's goal is to reduce deaths of women in obstructed labor by 75% and new fistula cases by 50% within 2 years, by using innovative community approaches in pilot districts to benefit hundreds of thousands, and expand as rapidly as results justify.

The previous main cause of maternal mortality (obstructed childbirth / obstructed labor) was reduced by 100% (i.e. gone) within 4 months after the project started in its initial, large pilot area. And obstetric fistulas are being reduced significantly.

HDI aims to free populations of degrading, debilitating diseases which are deemed to be eradicable or can be eliminated as public health problems, but which are insufficiently addressed at the time HDI becomes engaged.

HDI “gets the ball rolling” on important issues, using modest resources and plays a “finger in the dike” role, stepping in to solve important, manageable problems with alacrity.

News:

Niger reduced obstructed labor deaths by 100% within 4 months in an large, remote, multiethnic area that produced more such catastrophes than most, and Niger has sustained that result for 24 months and counting, as of May 2010.