Murang’a County Referral Hospital hosted a fistula screening and treatment camp that mobilised 449 women and girls for screening, counselling, physiotherapy and corrective surgery, according to a press release dated April 18, 2026. The camp was a collaboration between the M-Pesa Foundation, the Ministry of Health and the Murang’a County Government, supported by clinical partners including the Flying Doctors and Amref Health Africa.

The organisers said the intervention comes against what they described as a national burden of about 120,000 women living with untreated obstetric fistula, citing shortages of trained fistula surgeons, delayed access to emergency obstetric care and complications during childbirth as key barriers to reducing the caseload.

Obstetric fistula is a childbirth injury commonly linked to prolonged or obstructed labour and can result in chronic incontinence and other complications. Beyond the health impact, the condition can lead to stigma and economic exclusion—factors that often affect household incomes and productivity, and increase demand for public health services.

Christine Muthengi, a vesicovaginal fistula (VVF) nurse and trainer, said some patients at the Murang’a camp had lived with the condition for decades, with cases dating back to 1991. She linked long-term untreated cases to social outcomes that include abandonment and isolation.

“Obstetric fistula is a devastating childbirth injury that causes chronic incontinence, deep physical trauma and social isolation, from constant leakage to resultant foul smell, Women and girls are forced into hiding for years, to save them from shame,” Ms Muthengi said.

Ms Muthengi added that stigma remains a major obstacle to treatment, saying many patients conceal their condition and delay seeking medical care. The press release also pointed to gaps such as misdiagnosis and delays in accessing emergency obstetric services as contributing risk factors.

Despite Murang’a County reporting a 96% skilled birth attendance rate and a teenage pregnancy rate of 7%, the statement said underlying challenges—such as poverty and early and unintended pregnancies among adolescents—can still increase the risk of obstetric fistula.

The M-Pesa Foundation said it invested KES 8.1 million in the Murang’a initiative, which it described as part of a wider KES 213 million commitment towards fistula interventions. According to the Foundation, that funding has enabled more than 1,500 women in “high-burden counties” to access treatment.

Patricia Ithau, trustee at M-Pesa Foundation, said the programme aims to reduce delays to care and restore health outcomes for affected patients. “No woman should have to suffer in silence. Fistula surgery may seem like a simple procedure, but the transformation it brings to a woman’s dignity, health and future is profound,” Ms Ithau said.

For Kenya’s health sector, initiatives that bundle screening, surgical camps and post-operative support can help counties manage backlogs, but they also highlight structural constraints in specialist capacity and referral systems. If scaled and paired with stronger emergency obstetric care, such programmes could reduce long-term costs associated with chronic complications and social support needs, particularly in public facilities.

The partners did not provide a timeline for the next camp in the statement, but positioned the Murang’a intervention as part of longer-term efforts to build capacity to manage fistula cases and increase access to treatment in counties with high demand.