International #womensday

Today is International Women's Day. Working with our local partners means our programmes are designed to meet the real needs of the women we work with - not just the needs we think they have.

This is Asali. Asali believes she is about 21 years old. Her first pregnancy, four years ago, ended in tragedy when after a gruelling, protracted labour in her remote village, she finally reached hospital and delivered a stillborn child by emergency Caesarean section. In addition to her grief, Asali was left incontinent from a badly damaged birth canal (obstetric fistula). Her husband stood by Asali – many do not – and she eventually conceived again.

Heavily pregnant, Asali walked for two days to reach our partner hospital in Tanzania where the birth was medically supervised and a healthy baby delivered. When she had recovered, our team provided an operation to repair her long-standing fistula and she was sent home; healthy once again. The smile on her face says more than words ever could about her new life.

Obstetric fistula is just one of the disabling conditions that IMPACT’s trained surgical teams treat throughout Africa and Asia. Surgeons also restore sight, hearing, mobility, cleft lip and palate, and release limbs withered by severe burns. The people who benefit are among the poorest of the poor and have no other hope of treatment yet surgery can transform their prospects; helping them to work and become independent once again. Their entire family benefits as a result.

You can read more about IMPACT’s work to reverse needlessly disabling conditions in the enclosed copy of our annual review which also describes how we work in highly impoverished areas to prevent avoidable disability before it permanently affects lives.

You can help us support women like Asali. You can text CURE23 £5 (or alternative amount) to 70070 to help.


www.impact.org.uk