Mulu Muleta: Ethiopian surgeon working to end fistula

Abstract

Working for 16 years with impoverished fistula patients in Ethiopia has made Mulu Muleta a world renowned fistula surgeon and a passionate supporter of the global campaign to end fistula. The moving tales of young girls and women who are abandoned by their husbands and ostracised by their families because of fistula have strengthened her resolve to contribute to the eradication of obstetric fistula. "Recently we carried out a national survey on public perceptions about fistula. We found that many people especially in rural areas think fistula is a curse or a punishment for sinning. They think it cannot be treated" she says. Muleta says fistula is an issue in almost every developing country where emergency obstetric care is scarce. In Ethiopia fistula is most prevalent in rural communities where access to health-care facilities is difficult because of the mountainous terrain with poor often non-existent roads. Moreover the custom of early marriages in some parts of the country exacerbates the problem. (excerpt)