Obstetric Fistula Repair Campaign in Bie, Angola 2026
In May/June 2026, Votoka supported a major obstetric fistula repair campaign in the highland province of Bie. This annual campaign regularly sees over 150 women receive repair operations - some for the first time, and some for repeat operations performed by Irish specialist Dr Michael Breen.
This year we supported over 200 women who came to participate in the campaign, with 181 of these women receiving repair operations. The post-operative care was mostly performed by the staff from Dr Walter Strangway Hospital, with support from Votoka, nursing specialist Ishbel Campbell, and staff from Vangulula House. We are so proud of the way in which the team from the hospital in Bie have demonstrated ownership, responsibility, and love for these patients. It was an honour to work with them. Our partners from CICA (The Board of Christian Churches of Angola) also supported the campaign, leading a blood donation drive from member churches.
At Votoka we believe in the holistic treatment of women - not just a surgical treatment of their physical injury, but psycho-emotional support for the trauma they have suffered. A major part of the work we do with these women is to teach them about trauma, how it can affect their lives, and how they can help themselves to process their trauma. We also spend time talking with and supporting each woman as much as possible, and we identify women who are especially traumatized and do our best to invest more time helping them to heal. Our reintegration team also teach some basic hand-sewing skills, giving the women an activity to complete during their 2-3 weeks of post operative care, and also helping them to develop self-esteem and confidence.
This year there were so many women present that some were sent to Luanda and Kaluquembe for treatment instead. Whilst this campaign was well run and the women received the best care possible, we hope in the future to have more regular campaigns with a smaller number of women per campaign. Hopefully, as the situation of obstetric fistula in Angola gains more awareness, further campaigns can be conducted with other visiting surgeons such as Dr Judith Goh. With each campaign the visiting specialists can help improve the skills of the local surgeons, walking us toward a path of sustainability within the Angolan surgeon network.
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