Zimbabwe starts providing free treatment for women with obstetric fistula

A woman sits near the entrance of Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital, where women have begun receiving treatment for obstetric fistula, in Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe, some 150 kms west of the capital Harare, Sept. 17, 2024. (Columbus Mavhunga/VOA) Female patients chat in the gynecology ward at Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital in Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe, Sept. 17, 2024. (Columbus Mavhunga/VOA)

Zimbabwe's government has given in to pressure from rights groups and is now providing free treatment to women with obstetric fistula, a condition that makes it hard for mothers who went through difficult labor to control their bowels. For a closer look, VOA visited Chinhoyi, a farming and mining area about 150 kilometers west of Harare, where early marriages are common, and where the treatment is being offered.