On the frontline: A day in Côte d'Ivoire

“Come watch this,” indicated Dr Bile, proudly holding up his digital camera to show us a recording of one of his happy patients performing the famous “fistula dance.” The woman is all smiles, beaming as she shows off a waddling dance, which she can now perform without the worry of leaking urine. This dance has become a ritual that women perform the day they leave the hospital after surgery. The ritual signifies a new start to their lives after years in shame and hiding, a celebration of their reacceptance into their community and families, the joy of being reaccepted by their husbands, and most of all a sign of gratitude towards the man who gave them their freedom to live again.

Dr Bile is a gynaecologist with Médecins Sans Frontières. He is one of the few people in the world who can perform the procedure to repair obstetric fistulas, a life altering operation for a terrible condition that destroys the lives of many young women for years after they experience a difficult delivery. Aside from the surgical “miracle” that Dr Bile performs, it is his gentle manner and warm sense of humour that make the women smile …