The International Organisation for Women and Development has called on government to buy the necessary equipment that will enable them carry out fistula surgery.Barbara Margolies, the Executive Director of the NGO that carries out fistula surgery, says currently they carry almost all the equipment used because of lack of equipment. “The doctors we have trained here need to carry out the surgery and therefore need the equipment,” she said.Margolies leads a team of volunteer surgeons and nurses whose purpose is to operate and care for women who are affected by obstetric fistula, and at the same time, train Rwandan surgeons. The team, which consists of 21 volunteer doctors and nurses, offers free fistula surgery three times a year – in February, April and October– since 2006. The surgery is carried out in conjunction with the Ministry of Health. Normally, the operation and follow-up treatment cost between Rwf200,000 and 300,000. In the February clinic about 220 women came to Kibagabaga hospital for treatment. However, according to Dr Christian Ntizimira, the Director of Kibagabaga hospital, this time around, they received less patients. “We received 60 new cases within a week and 40 of the patients underwent surgery,” he said. The clinic has been running since mid-April.Obstetric fistula is when a hole develops in the birth canal which is usually caused by prolonged obstructed labour that leaves the woman suffering from a range of health problems which include urinary incontinence.According to medics, most of the cases can aggravate when mothers give birth without the help of qualified medical personnel. The unceasing incontinence often has severe psychosocial and socioeconomic consequences caused by social segregation.
