Obstetric fistula is a neglected public health and human rights issue. It occurs almost exclusively in low-resource regions, resulting in permanent urinary and/or fecal incontinence. Although the exact prevalence remains unknown, it starkly outweighs the limited pool of skilled fistula surgeons needed to repair this childbirth injury. Several global movements have, however, enabled the international community to make major strides in recent decades. FIGO's Fistula Surgery Training Initiative, launched in 2012, has made significant gains in building the capacity of local fistula surgeons to steadily close the fistula treatment gap. Training and education are delivered via FIGO and partners' Global Competency-based Fistula Surgery Training Manual and tailored toward the needs and skill level of each trainee surgeon (FIGO Fellow). There are currently 62 Fellows from 22 fistula-affected countries on the training program, who have collectively performed over 10 000 surgical repairs. The initiative also contributes to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (1, 3, 5, 8, 10, and 17). The UN's ambitious target to end fistula by 2030 will be unobtainable unless sufficient resources are mobilized and affected countries are empowered to develop their own sustainable eradication plans, including access to safe delivery and emergency obstetric services. K E Y W O R D S

Obstetric fistula is a devastating childbirth injury caused by unrelieved obstructed labor. Obstetric fistula leads to chronic incontinence and, in most cases, significant physical and emotional suffering. The condition continues to blight the lives of 1-2 million women in low-resource settings, with 50 000-100 000 new cases each year adding to the backlog. A trained, skilled fistula surgeon is essential to repair an obstetric fistula; however, owing to a global shortage of these surgeons, few women are able to receive life-restoring treatment. In 2011, to address the treatment gap, FIGO and partners released the Global Competency-Based Fistula Surgery Training Manual, the first standardized curriculum to train fistula surgeons. To increase the number of fistula surgeons, the FIGO Fistula Surgery Training Initiative was launched in 2012, and FIGO Fellows started to enter the program to train as fistula surgeons. Following a funding boost in 2014, the initiative has grown considerably. With 52 fellows involved and a new Expert Advisory Group in place, the program is achieving major milestones, with a record-breaking number of fistula repairs performed by FIGO Fellows in 2017, bringing the total number of repairs since the start of the project to more than 6000.

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The FIGO Fistula Surgery Training Initiative has been developed to build the capacities of fistula surgeons in identified training centres using the Global Competency-Based Fistula Surgery Training Manual.  Since the launch of the Training Manual in 2011, the project has evolved, and in the last 4 years, has expanded substantially. Coming from 19 fistula affected countries around the world, there are presently 57 trainee fistula surgeons (‘Fellows’) on the Programme, undergoing training placements in established training centres, as well as receiving coaching visits in their home facilities to progressively build their fistula skills and activities over time. While good progress has been made, FIGO recognises and is ready to address the challenges still facing the Programme, and the next exciting phase will include further expansion, with continued admission of Fellows and fistula care teams from selected, high-need countries, while moving towards programmatic consolidation, by further strengthening the skills and activities of Fellows already on the Programme, so that significantly more affected women have access to high quality, life changing fistula treatment.