Thank you so much for helping to get information about this issue out to the public.

I had no idea how widespread obstetric fistula is in the developing world until recently when I started volunteering at an organization called One By One, (www.fightfistula.org). What I have learned there in the last few weeks almost seems unbelievable in this day and age. Not only the extent of the problem (over two million women worldwide) but also the underlying causes; lack of medical care, lack of education and status for women and girls, early marriage, etc.

One By One is working to end obstetric fistula in multiple ways. First, they provide direct financial support in the form of grants to several organizations that provide treatment for and help prevent fistula in the developing world. Second, they work to educate the public (people like me!) about the reality of fistula and its causes and, very importantly, provide ideas on simple ways that individuals can make a difference. And third, they work to advocate for changes in public policy that could help to bring about an end to fistula. If you are interested in learning more about this issue their website contains a lot of information and has links to a number of other organizations dealing both with fistula and related issues.

Also, if you are a registered voter in the United States, you might be interested in learning about a current piece of federal legislation that would provide funding for fistula treatment.

There is a bill before the House of Representatives that would take money that is already in the federal budget and earmark it for organizations that provide treatment to women suffering from fistula. The money is currently allocated to fund the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) but President Bush has refused to release it for multiple years now (the administration initially claimed that UNFPA funds forced abortions and sterilizations and even though their own investigators have found no evidence of such activity the funds have never been released – the hope with this bill is that the money can be allocated to an issue that everyone can agree on). The bill is being put forward by Representative Carolyn Maloney from NY. It is called the “Repairing Young Women's Lives Around the World Act” (Introduced in House)[H.R.2114.IH] and you can learn more about it at Rep Maloney’s website: http://maloney.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1340&...
or you can read the actual text of the act here:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.R.2114.IH:

If you want to write to your representative in support of this bill you can find your representatives contact information at:
http://www.house.gov/

Also, since one of the underlying causes of fistula is early marriage and girls becoming pregnant before their bodies are fully ready to withstand pregnancy and labor I have been trying to learn more about the issue of child marriage as well.

One very good sources of information on child marriage is the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW). They have a great deal of information on their website, including resources to help educate others on this issue and links to current legislation pertaining to child marriage. Their URL is: http://www.icrw.org/

Also, I highly recommend watching the video “Child Brides; Stolen Lives” – it can be seen online at http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/341/index.html

Again, for those of you who are registered voters in the United States, you can support legislation addressing the issue of child marriage currently before both the House of Representatives and the Senate. It would be extremely helpful if as many people as possible called their representatives and expressed their support.

Contact information for your Senators and Representative can be found at:
Senate: http://www.senate.gov/
Representative: http://www.house.gov/

The house bill is HR3175 and ICRW has a great synopsis of it at:
http://www.icrw.org/docs/advocacy/HR%203175%20-%20one-pager.pdf
The Senate bill is S1998 and a synopsis of it can be found at:
http://www.icrw.org/docs/advocacy/S%201998-%20one-pager.pdf

Thanks again for taking an interest in and helping spread information about this issue.