For Irish medical missionaries and anyone who advocates for human rights, SafeBirth4All provides an opportunity to get involved in public health education, prevention and rehabilitation of women and girls.
The SafeBirth4All campaign, launched in May 2024 in Dublin, seeks to raise awareness about obstetric fistula, a condition in which a hole in the birth canal develops during child labor. Due to lack of health care facilities and resources, obstetric fistula disproportionately affects women and girls in developing countries. The campaign is supported by a coalition of organisations, including Medical Missionaries of Mary (MMMs), Misean Cara and the Association of Leaders of Missionaries and Religious of Ireland (AMRI).
Campaign
With the combined efforts of Irish and African missionaries, founding members and new congregations, SafeBirth4All’s campaign spans four pillars of the battle against obstetric fistula: prevention, advocacy, rehabilitation and treatment. Nadia Ramoutar, communications coordinator for MMMs, cited the work of Sr Anne Ward and Sr Maura Lynch as inspiration for the current efforts of missionaries: “these women literally left a legacy there that’s been passed on since.”
In some cases the woman is beaten or thrown out of the village”
While obstetric fistula has been eradicated in countries like Ireland, the UK, the US and Canada, it continues to affect as many as two million women and girls worldwide, with approximately 50,000 new cases per year. Currently, the waiting list for surgery on obstetric fistula is 87 years, meaning that most women will never have the surgery. Additionally, around 90% of women giving birth with obstetric fistula will have a stillbirth, said Irish fistula surgeon Dr Shane Duffy.
Aside from the obvious physical harm that obstetric fistula causes, it can often result in a threat to social and mental wellbeing as well. “In some cases the woman is beaten or thrown out of the village, sometimes she’s cursed as a witch, sometimes she just takes it upon herself to live in a forest or in a hut, and they are isolated. It’s emotionally, physically and spiritually a very horrific experience for the woman or girl,” said Ramoutar to The Irish Catholic.
Not only is the social exclusion and ostracisation depressing, it can also deepen the women or girl into further poverty. “If you’re a female and you’re poor and you’re also ostracised, the sense of isolation and the sense of being forgotten by society is really tangible. They’re almost like the 21st century lepers.” said Dr Duffy.
Challenges
Dr Duffy has observed the plight of obstetric fistula firsthand. He leads fistula camps in Uganda three to four times a year where he operates on women and girls with obstetric fistula and trains local surgeons. “In many countries throughout the world there unfortunately are health systems that are not functioning, and many people give birth at home, and when they do have complications they can’t access healthcare in a timely fashion,” said Duffy to The Irish Catholic. He noted that one of SafeBirth4All’s concrete goals is to implement the personnel and resources necessary to treat the condition as easily as it is treated in wealthier, Western nations.
It’s absolutely unacceptable that so many people are suffering”
While Dr Duffy has the medical skills and knowledge to train others in the treatment and prevention of obstetric fistula, the SafeBirth4All campaign cannot be successful without the efforts of all. “Obviously my skills are real and tangible in terms of fixing the hole, but in order to do all that we have to have patients who come to the hospital and we need clean water.” In other words, laypeople should be encouraged to use the skills they have to contribute to the campaign, whether they are engineers, educators, organisers.
SafeBirth4All’s emphasis on education is particularly important to Ramoutar. “The number one thing that helps us is for more people to know about this. I do believe that the average layperson who finds out about this wants to do something,” said Ramoutar. “If we consider ourselves Christians, then this is an absolutely essential area of current global health issues that needs to be addressed. It’s absolutely unacceptable that so many people are suffering.”
Morality
Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Dr Duffy agreed with Ramoutar, saying “There’s a sense of moral jeopardy that exists in current society where people think ‘that’s an issue for somebody else’ and I would kind of challenge that and say this is part of our existence as a community…we all have a responsibility to take action in some way.”
Those who want to help can always contribute through prayer”
While global issues such as obstetric fistula may seem far away and impossible to solve, SafeBirth4All hopes to empower the average layperson to feel that they can make a difference in times of darkness. “It’s an opportunity for us to be missionaries from our living room,” said Ramoutar. According to the MMMs Communications Coordinator, concrete ways to help the movement include: educating oneself and sharing information with others, making donations, and getting involved with the campaign in Ireland by attending events and talks. Additionally, those who want to help can always contribute through prayer, said Ramoutar; “You can pray for the women, you can pray for the girls, you can pray for the people who are trying to educate them, you can pray for the
doctors.”
If you’re a female and you’re poor and you’re also ostracised, the sense of isolation and the sense of being forgotten by society is really tangible. They’re almost like the 21st century lepers”