UNFPA and Iceland fund fistula surgeries in Makeni and Bo
About 10 women have already been operated on at Makeni Regional Hospital, and Bo Government Hospital is next in line for 10 to 15 more.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), working with the Government of Iceland and Sierra Leone's Ministry of Health, has begun obstetric fistula repair surgeries at Makeni Regional Hospital under the National Obstetric Fistula Surgery Camp. On Wednesday, 11 November 2026, UNFPA Sierra Leone Representative Kunle Kaden Adeniyi visited the hospital with officials from the Embassy of Iceland in Freetown and the Ministry of Health's Directorate of Reproductive and Child Health, and spoke with patients, survivors, surgeons, nurses and midwives.
According to UNFPA, about 10 women have already received treatment in Makeni. Theatre renovations and medical equipment, funded by Iceland through UNFPA, made the surgeries possible. The programme is expected to extend to Bo Government Hospital, where another 10 to 15 women are scheduled for surgery.
Since 2022, the partnership has supported about 545 fistula repair surgeries, screened 1,936 women for suspected fistula and given psychosocial rehabilitation, livelihood training and family reintegration support to 294 survivors. It has also trained 234 community health workers and 1,075 frontline providers in emergency obstetric and newborn care.
Why it mattersWomen with obstetric fistula in Makeni and Bo can now get surgery at no cost, and the programme is due to reach Bo next.