L. Lewis Wall, MD, D. Phil., professor of obstetrics and gynecology, has devoted his life to helping women with obstetric fistulas — childbirth injuries often suffered by African teens whose birth canals are not fully developed.

Many women with these pelvic injuries, which commonly cause urinary or fecal incontinence, are divorced by their husbands, cast out by their families and must eke out a meager living without marketable skills. In 1995, Wall also established the Worldwide Fistula Fund (WFF), a foundation to raise money for fistula repair and for construction of clinical facilities that would provide these services.

To date, the WFF has helped support and build a number of fistula centers in Africa. It also has provided money for training, facilities, patient care and supplies and to help raise awareness of the problem.