FEBRUARY 11, 2008
Guinean Society Takes On Fistula
Kissidougou Mayor Paul Keita and USAID director Cliff Brown
The mayor of Kissidougou praised USAID’s EngenderHealth project, saying
it not only helped women suffering from fistula, but assisted local health authorities
in such diverse activities as budget and resource management, and improving
communication between local officials and the public. Following the USAID Director’s
visit to Kissidougou in January 2008, the city’s mayor, Paul Keita, lauded
the beneficial impact of the project on the women of the region, and praised
it positive effects on governance. “The EngenderHealth project fostered
a good relationship with the commune of Kissidougou,” said the mayor in
a letter to the USAID Director. “This translated into communal advisors
training on legal aspects of their operations, development and implementation
of the communal budget, building their capacity to manage the resources.”
Since 2005 USAID has financed the EngenderHealth in collaboration with Guinea’s
Ministry of Public Health to prevent fistula injuries. Obstetric fistula is
an injury caused by obstructed labor, and can be fatal for both baby and mother
if prompt medical attention is not available. EngenderHealth concentrates its
efforts in the provincial capital of Kissidougou where it works as partners
with the district health management team.USAID’s project focuses on:
• Strengthening the capacity of hospital centers to provide fistula repair
• Educating communities and health facilities to better understand fistula
and its prevention
• Gathering and using data to strengthen the quality of fistula services
• Strengthening the supportive environment to institutionalize fistula
prevention, repair, and reintegration programs
• Improving the quality of governance at the community level to better
assess Fistula care. This initiative entails training members of the Urban Council
of Kissidougou on rule of law, civic rights, financial management, and gender
equality
In 2007 the program results were quite encouraging:
• Kissidougou commune rented facilities to receive women affected by Fistula,
including women living in neighboring Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Mali. The commune
created ten Village Safe Motherhood committees to identify early complications
in pregnant women. Because many women live in remote areas, the committees facilitate
transportations to first care health centers. They also ensure that pregnant
women receive four initial care visits and that newborns receive immunization
services.
• Communities responded with a considerable increase in activism to prevent
fistula.
Success stories from 2007:
In Kissidougou, 40 women receive surgical repair and 30 were successfully discharged
from the facility. The success rate during the reporting period was 75 percent.
In Conakry, 28 of 40 women who requested surgical procedures were successfully
treated.
The Safe Motherhood Village Committee reached 473 pregnant women, and reported
a 52 percent increase in pregnant women seeking for Pre-Natal care.
Kissidougou organized a one-day session in July to sensitize men on the risks,
consequences and prevention of fistula.
In addition, the commune of Kissidougou inaugurated a social center to welcome
fistula-affected women from neighboring countries.
USAID’s program helps women recovering from fistula treatment develop
income generation skills such as sewing, embroidery and soap making. These activities
assist in their re-integration in the community. Currently 14 women are involved
in soap making.
| One
Girl’s Story
Fistula can have a horrendous impact on women Guinea where physical
torment is frequently followed by social isolation.
Mariama Barry is a young girl who once lived in an isolated rural area
of Guinea far from any medical facility. As the time to deliver her
child neared, members of her village transported her via hammock for
three painful days to the district hospital of Telimele. But they arrived
too late. The baby died and Mariama was diagnosed with a fistula.
As a result of the stigma associated with fistula, Mariama was shunned
by her village and her family and lived in complete isolation following
the death of her baby. After eight years of loneliness she received
a clinical screening and she was referred to Kissidougou facility where
her fistula injuries were successfully treated. Today Mariama lives
with a host family in Kissidougou, and a sense of dignity has returned
to her life.
|
Story and photo by Francesca Munzi
