Deaths and fistulas occur in Africa simply because many women don’t have access to safe medical care for the delivery of their child. Many women deliver at home with no help at all. The big killers are bleeding, eclampsia, obstructed labour, and infection. It takes access to blood transfusions, surgery (including caesarean sections when appropriate), medicines and good medical supervision to stop women dying or suffering from serious injury.

Motivated by Jesus Christ’s call to love and serve the poor, Barbara May Foundation (BMF) has responded to the need by facilitating free and safe care for poor and vulnerable women during childbirth and for those already suffering from complications arising from childbirth. BMF seeks to honour women’s dignity and restore their agency by facilitating the repair of obstetric fistulas caused by obstructed labour, and by working to eliminate fistulas and prevent women dying in childbirth.

With BMF’s current fully operational supported hospitals as the base, the aim is to build up a network of medical infrastructure and services in Africa which will significantly accelerate the availability of free and safe care for poor and vulnerable women during childbirth or from complications arising out of childbirth. BMF aims to serve the most vulnerable.

BMF’s hospitals are located in Ethiopia, Tanzania, and South Sudan. There is also a hospital under construction in northern Uganda, planned to open in 2025.