Dr Shirley Heywood, a British gynaecological surgeon who works with INF in Surkhet district, has been awarded an MBE for services to women’s health in Nepal.

Shirley specialises in women with obstetric fistula, notably establishing the Fistula Centre which opened in 2019.

Shirley is the latest in a significant but select band of INF workers over the years to receive official honours to recognise their work in Nepal, and enjoyed a day in London to collect the award in June.

She said: “It was a great honour to be presented with my MBE by HRH The Princess Royal at Buckingham Palace. I am so thankful to God for calling me to help Nepali women over the past two decades.

“This is really an award to be shared with the wonderful team at the Fistula Centre, all those who have helped and taught me over the years, and all the amazing women in Nepal who have trusted me to care for them. They show such bravery because there is still a major stigma that often holds women back from getting fistula treatment.”

Fistula is a birth injury sustained in mothers where a small tear between the bladder wall and the uterus can lead to prolonged issues with incontinence. It can often be solved with a simple operation, but many mothers in remote Nepali districts do not have access to healthcare which can identify and resolve these issues.

Shirley recalls being called by God aged 16 while reading a prayer letter that revealed the health needs in Nepal and the lack of service compared to the UK. Having trained as a gynaecologist, she went into mission work in Pakistan. There she developed a passion for teaching others, which led on to training student doctors in Papua New Guinea.

Having arrived in Nepal 30 years after reading that prayer letter, Shirley’s vision for establishing a fistula service came from meeting women at INF health camps.

She has worked with INF in Nepal for more than 20 years, transforming the lives of many women through her compassionate care and surgical skills.

The Fistula Centre has now been handed over to the neighbouring Karnali Provincial Hospital, which opened in 2021. The centre will continue to play a key part in the Government of Nepal’s roadmap to the eradication of obstetric fistula in Nepal by the year 2030.

Shirley plans to continue working in Surkhet for the next two years, to continue training staff and supporting the Provincial Hospital’s gynaecology team to ensure they can make full use the Fistula Centre to provide treatment for women in western Nepal.