Health Experts Agree on Expanding the Pool of Fistula Surgeons as they Close 4th National Safe Motherhood Conference.
According to findings, the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Uganda estimates that 1,900 new cases of obstetric fistula occur each year and that at least 200,000 women in the country are living with the condition.
This is a complication of childbirth that can cause incontinence, infections, isolation, and ridicule. It's a result of prolonged or obstructed labor, which is often associated with delays in seeking or receiving proper emergency care.
The MoH recognized obstetric fistula as a health issue in 2001, but it wasn't until 2005 that Uganda reported the third-highest prevalence of fistula in the world.
Some factors associated with obstetric fistula vary from poverty, low education, gender inequality, illiteracy, nutrition, and early marriages. However, the condition can be corrected through surgery, with more than 80% chances of success.
The 2024, 4th National Safe Motherhood Conference held in Munyonyo , Speke Resort hotel, kampala, has highlighted key resolutions towards its closure that partners and government should collectively agree on , with increasing fistula surgeon doctors.
Discussed as resolutions, Thursday, experts agreed to also increase funding for unfunded priorities through rarying partners like parliament towards the Safe Motherhood fund. There have been challenges where a facility cannot perform anesthesia due to lack of an anesthetic machine. But through the corporate society for safe motherhood, different individuals and companies have been pulling resources together to bridge those gaps.
Another agreement that stood out was to ensure the 100% in monitoring of criminal matters during labor and post delivery. They said there's need to leave thime conference with an agreed voice on that particular issue, in addition to standardizing the motor COVID patients post operative, so that they don't engage again and PPH is still the leading cause of death.
All EVO facilities must establish functional high risk clinics, and not only identifying high risk mothers, but they must be retained where necessary, or they must be cared for as for the rightful protocols and standards as the guidelines stated. They agreed that several senior core facilities should be provided for all their civil facilities, and that is their collective voice to ensure that it is not simple services, they have to have that time fixed.
They also agreed that they must have the necessary equipment to provide obstetric surgery in all civil facilities that are supposed to provide such services available, government can not do this alone , but there is need to work with all partners to bridge such gaps.
Another very critical issue mentioned was that of fistula, a very devastating condition that continues to haunt the lives of countless women in our country, and recognize that the numbers keep increasing every single day and every year, more than 15,000 are fistula patients, thereby calling upon for additions to fistula surgeons in facilities.
The Minister for Health, Hon. Jane Ruth Acheng commended the strength of partnerships and also appreciated their their unwavering commitment to support the ministry of health in addressing the issue of Safe Motherhood.
“Many of our partners contribute overwhelmingly to this particular program in different areas, and all these achievements are owned by all of us. So where we have failed, please, let's own it and where we have succeeded, let us also own the achievements, but continue to make a commitment to make things even better.”
"I am sure that we are all annoyed by the stagnant progress in teenage pregnancy and neonatal death, and I am sure that we all going back with renewed commitment to address these issues. During the opening, we said the religious and the cultural leaders need to come in very seriously to address these issues but it is a collective effort still."
The aim of the ministry is to have no mother die, whether during pregnancy, child birth or after, we need a multi sector approach, which was captured, but I am hopeful that next year, or moving forward, this shall have other partners In the room if the issue of the social determinants of health is not addressed, water, roads, access to health services, household incomes, and of course, noted Minister Acheng.
