Prime
Kaziimba urges govt to support fistula fight
The Archbishop of Church of Uganda, the Most Rev Dr Samuel Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu, at the Terrewode Women’s Community Hospital in Soroti at the weekend. PHOTO | GEORGE MURON.
What you need to know:
- The Archbishop asked the government to provide specialised support for the establishment of fistula healthcare services in the country.
The Archbishop of Church of Uganda, the Most Rev Dr Samuel Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu, has called on the government, through the Ministry of Health, to support the fight against obstetric fistula.
Archbishop Kaziimba said there is a need for the government to provide specialised support for the establishment of fistula healthcare services in the country.
“This is a unique hospital that deals with the complicated cases of women resulting from difficult situations of giving birth,” he said during a visit to Terrewode Women’s Community Hospital at the weekend.
The visit is part of the Archbishop’s pastoral tour of Teso.
The Archbishop was reacting to remarks made by the director of Terrewode Women’s Fund, Ms Alice Emasu, who said the number of women with fistula is rising. She, however, added that they don’t have scientifically proven statistics.
“We have managed more than 1,000 cases of fistula from different parts of the country since we started operating and we have not exhausted them all,” Ms Emasu said.
She added that many victims of fistula are children.
Dr Mary Aono, the medical director of Terrewode Women’s Community Hospital, said children are most susceptible to obstetric fistula because their reproductive organs are still developing and the pelvis is not wide enough to facilitate childbirth.
Archbishop Kaziimba urged the public to fight child marriages and defilement which put the lives of girls at risk.
Terrewode Women’s Community Hospital specialises in the prevention, treatment, surgical correction and rehabilitation of obstetric fistula and its complications.
“We need more of the TERREWODE facilities in the Country to support the rehabilitation and repair of mothers with Fistula conditions,” Rev Dr Kaziimba said.
“I am impressed by this hospital and I am grateful for whoever came up with this vision. It has helped to save mothers from the stigma derived from the challenges of obstetric fistula and now they can live comfortably in their communities,” he added.
Later, the Archbishop commissioned the construction of Alalo Memorial Technical School in Kalaki. The project is being funded by Boeing Community Investments Fund. It has been awarded Shs1b for the construction.
The school is being built in memory of the late commissioner of police Christine Alalo who died in a plane crash on March 10, 2019.
This school sits on an 11-acre piece of land which was donated by the Church and is expected to impart technical skills such as plumbing, electrical installation, and tailoring, among others, to the youth.
The archbishop urged the community in Kalaki and Teso at large to embrace the school.
