More than 136 women suffering from vaginal fistula will have their conditions reversed by a team of surgeons from the Rwanda Military Hospital Kanombe for free. Fistula is a severe medical condition in which a fistula (a hole) develops either between the rectum and vagina or between the bladder and vagina after severe or failed childbirth. The operations are part of 12-day fistula repair workshop organized by the hospital in collaboration with Fistula Care Project. Nyirabenda Teopista 35, a patient from Kaza Sector, Ngoma District, said that she hoped not to be stigmatized by society again. “I have lived with this disease for 15 years. After delivering my child, with the help of a traditional birth attendant in my village, I was unable to control the flow of my urine. I have been shunned by the community for all these years; no one wanted to be near me because of the odor”, she narrated. She added that the disease made her unable to have friends and interact with her community, but now that she’s been operated upon, she was optimistic that society would not avoid her any more. Nyirabenda blames her condition on her ignorance of the importance of antenatal care and giving birth with the aid of a traditional birth attendant. She said she only went for antenatal care twice and didn’t deem it necessary to give birth from a proper health facility. She urged women to always go for antenatal care and give birth from a health facility. Immaculate Kemirembe, a midwife at the Rwanda Military Hospital, said that 200 women, with vaginal fistula, have, so far, been operated on from Kanombe Hospital. She called on women to ensure that they go through proper antenatal care, seek frequent monitoring during labor and give birth in a health centre. maria.kaitesi@newtimes.co.rw
