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Obstetric fistula, an abnormal communication between the bladder, results in a continuous flow of urine. The surgeon Jean-Charles Alimi, member of the NGO “healthy mothers of the world”, saves women who are excluded from it.
Jean Charles Alimi is a urological surgeon and member of “healthy mothers of the world”, an NGO with which he “repair” in Africa women victims of an obstetric fistula. “It’s abnormal communication between the bladder and the vagina, he explains. There is a hole between the bladder and the vagina, which causes urine to flow constantly.“ This pathology occurs during childbirth, yet Africa has few reception facilities for women during childbirth. “If they are far from a center, the child may not go out”, explains Jean-Charles Alimi, and “to die on the spot”.
In sub-Saharan Africa, between 600,000 and 3 million women are believed to be victims of an obstetric fistula, synonymous with exclusion. “When you have permanent urine loss in a hot country, you smell bad, it constantly runs, and there is no diaper. […] Women are excluded, they are repudiated by their husbands “, says the urological surgeon. Jean Charles Alimi performs 12 to 15 operations per mission, and must therefore choose his patients. After the operation, the woman returns to her former life “overnight”. “That’s why when you eliminate patients, it’s complicated”, he continues.