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Community urged to support fistula patients
2005-11-16 07:42:09
By Pacifique Nkeshimana
The Tanzanian community has been urged to continue supporting women suffering from fistula.
The Association of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians of Tanzania (AGOTA) made the call yesterday during the ongoing 7th East, Central and Southern African Association of Obstetrical and Gynaecological Societies (ECSAGs) held in Dar es Salaam.
The AGOTA President, Prof Richard Lema, said fistula is a state through which women, especially those giving birth of to first children, whose pains took a long time before delivery.
’Fistula is also present to thin women whose hips were not developed to allow the easy delivery of babies… and is also the problem of small girls who get pregnancies, especially adolescents,’ he said.
Prof Lema also said that the increase of cases of fistula in the country is due to the fact that many women do not get to hospitals or dispensary to attend their maternity and are being helped by non-trained traditional birth attendants (TBAs) who sometimes unknowingly may end up destroying the mother’s genital organs.
In an interview with The Guardian, Dr Edward Ngwalle, the Consultant Gynaecologist in Muhimbili National Hospital said that fistula might be eradicated if the government can provide the hospital with adequate supporting facilities.
The number of gynaecologists and skilled doctors are not sufficient to attend the increasing volume of mothers who attend their maternity. For example here at Muhimbili Hospital we help 40 to 45 mothers every 24 hours.
This is a very big number while gynaecologists are very few, he said, adding that the fatigue may engender poor assistance to mothers and this would cause fistula, as they may not be well attended.
The Peramiho Mission Hospital’s gynaecologist, Dr Gaudens Komba, said that victims of fistula should be helped instead of being undermined in their communities.
He, however, said that victims of fistula are advised to drink at least 5litres of water in 24 hours so as to produce only 4 litres of urine in 24 hours and this may help them reduce their uncontrolled flows of urine.
Komba noted that in the last five years, the Ministry of Health has introduced a national fistula programme through which all people having the disease are treated free-of charge.
Said he: ’The operations for fistula victims cost 200 to 300 US dollars…as this disease affect all people, rich and poor, the government through its ministry of health is providing victims with free treatment.’
He also disclosed that the people who suffer from fistula at Peramiho Mission Hospital range from 80 to 100 a year.
Dr Claude Masumbuko from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) said that war atrocities are common cause of gynaecological fistula in a conflict area due to rapes by military personnel, militiamen and other unidentified civilians who rape the young and old women, and who sometimes hurt them with bullets, knives and swords after they rape them.
’This year in DRC, 42.9 per cent of fistula victims were raped by military officers, 40.8 per cent violated by militias and 9.7per cent of women were violated by civilians known in the community,’ he said.
Countries whose gynaecologists are attending the conference include Lesotho, Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Angola.
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