Over 250 Garissa women to get free fistula treatment

The Garissa government and the Fistula Foundation on Thursday launched free fistula repair surgery at the Garissa Refferal Hospital.

More than 250 women in Garissa and neighbouring counties are expected to benefit from the surgery and post operative care.

Female genital fistula occurs when a mother undergoes prolonged and obstructed labour. The affected women leak urine and stool.

In turn, these women suffer from shame and endure stigma in their social lives because of their incontinence which gives a bad smell.

Health executive Roble Nunow urged men in the community to take a hands-on-approach and ensure women in their lives don't suffer from fistula which is preventable and treatable.

Nunow spoke during the launch of the repair surgery. He was accompanied by chief officer Hassan Anshur.

“As men, we should ensure our wives and sisters attend regular clinics when pregnant. They should also give birth in a medical facility where any complications will be promptly addressed,” he said.

The country director Fistula Foundation Habiba Corodhia Mohamed said her organisation has decided to assist the Garissa Refferal Hospital become a routine fistula repair facility.

She said mothers have been suffering for a long time as they awaited the annual medical camps.

Her sentiments were echoed by Fatuma Maalim of Wohed - the local partner for the Fistula Foundation.

Maalim gave out her number 0715 790 001 and urged Garissa residents to call her day or night if they needed an ambulance to transport an expectant mother to hospital.

She also announced a reward of Sh2,000 to anyone who brought forward a mother suffering from fistula.

Maalim said her organisation has supported the training of two surgeons at the hospital who will be do the fistula repair surgeries

The organisation will also be training four nurses to assist the surgeons.

They will also be paying for the cost of treatment for patients and reimbursing the hospital for the cost of materials used in the repair surgeries.

The World Health Organisation has termed fistula as the single most dramatic aftermath of neglected childbirth. 

It estimates that there are 3,000 new fistula cases in Kenya each year, and only 300 of these are able to access medical care.

Fistula is still rampant in the region because 42 per cent of mothers still prefer home deliveries where mid wives cannot deal with complications which occur.

Some 35 per cent of expectant mothers in Garissa are also at risk of getting fistula because they don't attend antenatal or postnatal clinics.

With Garissa becoming a routine repair centre, the hospital expects to treat more mothers suffering from fistula.

In 2020, they treated 57 patients while 88 sought treatment in 2021. The patients were treated during the week long annual fistula medical camp.

Garissa Refferal Hospital is the ninth facility in the country to join the routine fistula repair network.

Next month, Kapenguria Hospital will also join as the 10th in the network.

The foundation is supporting their local partner Wohed, to identify patients via community outreach efforts and facilitate referrals and transportation of patients to the health facility for surgery.

Present during the function were director Family Health Mohamed Haret, director Preventive & Promotive Services Mohamed Salat and Medical Superintendent Garissa Referral Hospital Dr Ambrose Misore.

(Edited by Bilha Makokha)