Assessing our Impact | Healing Hands of Joy

2017 End Line Evaluation: Evaluation of the Integrated Maternal and Child Health Project to Prevent Obstetric Fistula

From 2014 through 2017, Healing Hands of Joy implemented the Integrated Maternal and Child Health Project to Prevent Obstetric Fistula with funding from World Vision Ethiopia. Working in collaboration with the government, stakeholders and other local and international NGOs, the objectives of the project included new fistula case identification, rehabilitation and reintegration of fistula survivors, and the reduction of obstetric fistula by 50% by educating communities and pregnant women about fistula prevention in seven districts of the Tigray regional state. A baseline was conducted in 2014 and the end-line project evaluation was completed at the end of 2017 by an external consultant. The evaluation measured the results achieved against the project's target outputs and outcomes, and evaluated the overall impact of the project.

As health center deliveries and prenatal visits rose dramatically, obstetric fistula cases fell markedly.

The findings of the Evaluation of The Integrated Maternal Child Health Project to Prevent Obstetric Fistula, highlight the impact of Healing Hands of Joy's work and the work of our Safe Motherhood Ambassadors as follows:

The prevalence of Obstetric Fistula in the 7 woredas was 1.2% at the baseline (2014), and now has declined to 0.3% at the endline evaluation (2017), which is a 75% reduction;

There was an increase in institutional delivery from 43% during the baseline (2014) to 93% at evaluation (2017);

There was an increase in women who attended 4 or more prenatal visits from only 54.8% at baseline (2014) to 85.9% at evaluation (2017);

There was a reduction in prevalence of obstetric fistula (evaluated using conventional signs of obstetric fistula including urine/stool incontinence) reduced from 1.2% to 0.3%.