What Operation Fistula does

Operation Fistula is a nonprofit organization registered in England and Wales (Charity No 1162031, Company No 9542896) that addresses obstetric fistula, a childbirth injury affecting women in low-resource settings who lack access to emergency obstetric care. Its mission is to end fistula by funding surgical treatment, identifying patients, and rebuilding community reintegration pathways. The organization funds free fistula repair surgery in 22 countries via its Kickstart program, an output-driven, performance-based model in which surgeons receive unrestricted funding only after they have submitted treatment data through GOFAR validating delivery of high-quality care at no cost to patients. GOFAR (Global Obstetric Fistula Automated Registry) is the organization's technology backbone: a real-time monitoring and data collection platform built on CommCare, Exasol, Alteryx, and Tableau that documents the entire patient journey from identification through surgery, follow-up, and community reintegration. Complementary programs include FREE (Fistula Repair for Every Woman Everywhere), a four-pillar service model combining community outreach, clinical treatment, psychosocial support, and patient-ambassador engagement deployed across 50 communes in Madagascar; Hope Centers providing pre- and post-operative accommodation and counseling; national hotlines; satellite mapping of remote communities; and a Quality of Life Tool under development to capture patient-reported outcomes.

Revenue is sourced from charitable donations (USD/GBP) and institutional grants, with all clinical services provided free of charge to patients. The go-to-market combines direct partnerships with surgeons (Kickstart), community-led outreach (radio campaigns, field officers, traditional birth attendants, local leaders), and event-driven awareness (the annual May 23 International Day to End Obstetric Fistula). Strategic relationships anchor the model, including partnerships with UNFPA Mozambique (GOFAR implementation for the National Obstetric Fistula Strategy), UNFPA Madagascar (pioneering conditional grant), and Tostan (community engagement replication in Senegal), alongside technology integrations with Mapbox, Thinking Machines, CommCare, Tableau, Exasol, and Alteryx. Operation Fistula operates from Oxford, UK (registered HQ); Austin, TX; and Antananarivo, Madagascar (global operational HQ with 54 staff), with an active board of directors under founder and CEO Seth Cochran.

Name

Operation Fistula

Legal name

Operation Fistula

Website

https://opfistula.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Operation Fistula is a nonprofit that funds free obstetric fistula surgery in 22 countries via its Kickstart performance-based surgeon funding model, supported by the GOFAR data platform and complemented by community outreach, Hope Centers, and the FREE service program in Madagascar.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Maternal Healthcare Services

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

SIC

Services-Offices & Clinics Of Doctors Of Medicine (8011)

akta.pro primary industry

Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery (Laparoscopy/Hysteroscopy) (HLAKAJAF)

Keywords

• Obstetric fistula treatment
• Maternal health services
• Global health nonprofit
• Women's healthcare charity
• Patient outcome registry

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations: Individual and institutional donations fund fistula treatment, community outreach, and technology development. Donations can be made in USD or GBP through the organization's website.
2. Performance-Based Grants: Unrestricted funding provided to surgeons after they demonstrate high-quality care delivery through GOFAR data validation. Funders provide resources to support the Kickstart program.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Operation Fistula is a nonprofit organization that funds and coordinates free obstetric fistula repair surgery and comprehensive care for women in low-income countries. Through its performance-based Kickstart program, the organization provides unrestricted funding directly to qualified surgeons, backed by its GOFAR data platform that tracks patients across identification, treatment, and reintegration. It also operates Hope Centers, community outreach, and a Quality of Life measurement program in 22 countries.

Product overview

Operation Fistula is a nonprofit organization working to end obstetric fistula, operating a portfolio of interconnected programs rather than a single software product. The core technology platform is GOFAR (Global Obstetric Fistula Automated Registry), a real-time monitoring and data collection system that documents the entire patient journey from identification through treatment to community reintegration. This platform integrates with Kickstart, an output-driven funding mechanism that disburses funds to surgeons based on validated data entered into GOFAR. The comprehensive FREE program represents Operation Fistula's service delivery model in Madagascar, combining community engagement (Mitady), clinical treatment (Amboarina), and psychosocial support (Mikolo). Additional offerings include Hope Centers for patient accommodation and recovery, a national hotline for patient referrals, satellite mapping for geographic targeting, and a Quality of Life Tool for measuring patient outcomes beyond clinical success.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kickstart: An innovative performance-based funding program that provides catalytic funding directly to fistula surgeons who are currently out of reach of traditional funding streams.
• GOFAR
• FREE
• Hope Centers

Products and services

• Kickstart An output-driven performance-based funding program that provides unrestricted funding directly to fistula surgeons after they validate high-quality care delivery through GOFAR data at zero cost to patients.
• GOFAR (Global Obstetric Fistula Automated Registry) A real-time monitoring and data collection platform providing a shared measurement system for the fistula sector, enabling organizations to track patients from identification through diagnosis, surgery, follow-up, and community reintegration.
• FREE (Fistula Repair for Every Woman Everywhere) A comprehensive service model encompassing four pillars: Mitady (community engagement and patient outreach), Amboarina (clinical and surgical treatment), Mikolo (psychosocial support and economic empowerment), and Patient Ambassadors (former patients helping others access care).
• Hope Centers Facilities co-located with treatment centers that provide pre-operative preparation, post-operative recovery support, psychosocial counseling, nutrition care, and economic empowerment training for fistula patients.
• National Hotline A telephone service enabling patients from anywhere in the country to call in and seek help for fistula treatment.
• Quality of Life Tool A questionnaire-based tool that enables doctors, nurses, and social workers to measure how fistula affects each patient's quality of life across psychological, financial, social, and physical dimensions, enabling more personalized and holistic care delivery.
• Satellite Mapping Technology Uses satellite imagery to map regions, identify vulnerable populations where fistula is likely prevalent, and plan efficient outreach routes to remote communities.

Quantifiable outcome

• 39% improvement in surgical throughput during pilot program (2012-2014)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• UNFPA MozambiquecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Partnership to deliver and provide a full monitoring and data collection system for Mozambique's National Obstetric Fistula Strategy based on four pillars: advocacy, prevention, treatment, and social integration. GOFAR platform piloted in three provinces (Zambezia, Nampula, Cabo Delgado) with 70% surgery registration rate achieved.
• TostancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to replicate Operation Fistula's community engagement approach in Senegal, combining Tostan's community education expertise with fistula treatment programs.
• MapboxcoreTechnology or IntegrationMapping technology partner enabling tracking of Operation Fistula's work in OpenStreetMap and visualization of mapping progress across Madagascar.
• Thinking MachinescoreTechnology or IntegrationData science partner supporting mapping analytics and visualization to identify patient populations and track program outcomes.
• CommCarecoreTechnology or IntegrationMobile data collection platform powering GOFAR for front-line health workers to document patient journeys across the continuum of care.
• TableaucoreTechnology or IntegrationData visualization software used to build dashboards allowing partners to monitor implementation and gain real-time insights from GOFAR data.
• UNFPA MadagascarcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPioneering partnership representing first time UNFPA accepted conditional funding for fistula. During pilot (2012-2014), 12 grassroots organizations funded through this partnership.
• Mercy ShipsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrevious employer of team members; relationship provides exposure to fistula patient populations and surgical care models.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Médecins Sans Frontières: Provides surgical care including obstetric surgery in LMICs. Indirect overlap on fistula patient populations and surgeon networks; far larger but less specialized in the fistula niche.
• Partners in Health: Large global health nonprofit providing surgery and maternal health services in low-income countries. Operates with broader health-system mandate but overlaps on surgical care delivery and government partnerships in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Direct peers

• EngenderHealth: Previously led the USAID-funded Fistula Care Plus project, the largest sector initiative before UNFPA. Operates in the same maternal health and fistula treatment domain with deep institutional donor relationships.
• Hamlin Fistula USA: Raises funds for the Hamlin Fistula Hospital network in Ethiopia, providing free fistula surgery and rehabilitation — a direct competitor in surgical funding and patient care delivery in Africa.
• Fistula Foundation: US-based nonprofit that is the largest dedicated funder of obstetric fistula surgery globally, directly competing for donor mindshare and surgeon partnership relationships in the same patient population.
• Worldwide Fistula Fund: US-based nonprofit dedicated to obstetric fistula prevention and treatment, funding surgeries and surgeon training in the same geographies — overlaps directly with Operation Fistula's Kickstart model.
• TERREWODE: Uganda-based nonprofit operating a holistic fistula model combining treatment, rehabilitation, and economic empowerment — a community-led, comparable approach to Operation Fistula's FREE model in Madagascar.
• UNFPA Campaign to End Fistula: The largest global funder and convener on obstetric fistula — and a direct partner of Operation Fistula (Madagascar, Mozambique). Sets sector strategy and standards that shape Operation Fistula's operating environment.
• Healing Hands of Joy: Ethiopia-based nonprofit focused on fistula survivor reintegration through economic empowerment and counseling — mirrors Operation Fistula's Mikolo pillar and competes for reintegration-program funding.

Others

• Direct Relief: Large humanitarian medical aid organization that supplies maternal health products and supports fistula programs via in-kind donations — operates as a sector enabler/funder rather than a direct service competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/OpFistula
• Facebookfacebook.com/OpFistula
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/opfistula
• Instagraminstagram.com/opfistula

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Operation Fistula