Sierra Leone has among the world’s highest documented incidences of maternal mortality. A lack of access to obstetric care results in a high rate of injury to mothers during childbirth. The most feared injury is obstetric fistula, which leaves women incontinent.

Aberdeen Clinic and Fistula Centre
Operations to repair obstetric fistula and return incontinent women to health were first performed by Mercy Ships in Sierra Leone aboard the floating hospital Anastasis. Because of the scope of the problem, Mercy Ships felt challenged to provide a lasting solution through a permanent, land-based operation. The Aberdeen Clinic and Fistula Centre, dedicated to fistula repair and women’s obstetric health, was completed in 2005.

Fistula Operations
The fistula centre includes an operating theatre capable of supporting two simultaneous operations, a ward capable of accommodating 44 acute-care surgical patients, and clinical laboratory and pharmacy facilities. The centre has a capacity for 500 to 600 fistula patients per year.

Outpatient Clinic
According to the World Health Organisation, Sierra Leone suffers the world’s highest child mortality rate. Nearly three children in ten do not live to see their fifth birthday. In addition to providing free VVF operations at the centre, an outpatient clinic serves as a primary care facility for children 12 and under in the surrounding community, providing initial diagnosis, basic medical care, immunisations and health education.