President Jakaya Kikwete on Saturday lashed out at men who divorce their wives after being diagnosed with obstetric fistula, labelling the practice inhuman and criminal.
He also cautioned against the tendency of stigmatizing women suffering from the condition in the society because doing so only adds to their woes and that the condition in women is not self-induced. Obstetric fistula is a severe medical condition in which a hole develops between either the rectum or bladder and female private parts after severe or failed childbirth, when adequate medical care is not available.
The president was speaking at the end of a 2.5 kilometres charity walk from Golden Tulip Hotel to CCBRT hospital in Dar es Salaam in support of the Moyo Challenge campaign which aims at collecting 1bn/- to eradicate obstetric fistula in Tanzania by 2016. Saturday’s walk was a brainchild of Vodacom Tanzania and CCBRT to raise the funds from the public in support of women suffering from obstetric fistula, but a global campaign was initiated last year by Vodafone Group Foundation to raise 7 million sterling pounds for the purpose.
“Fistula is a condition which is very demeaning to many women and society should understand that it is curable. We should stop shunning women suffering from the condition but instead encourage them to come out for treatment,” he said. President Kikwete praised Vodafone Group Foundation for their commitment as they have hitherto managed to collect 4.3 million sterling pounds (over 10bn/-) for that goal and more efforts were being made to reach the target of 7 million pounds. Until on Saturday almost 200m/- had been raised in the country.
The president said that the government would do more to support the initiative and directed the Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Hadji Mponda, to look into the possibility of having a nationwide campaign with road shows and similar campaigns from district to district. “Our immediate concern might be to treat those already affected, but of paramount importance is to sensitize the public about the condition and that it is curable and more women should come out for treatment.
As a government we can do more. We should make this a nationwide campaign so that we can reach out to more people in a short period of time,” he said. The president noted that out of one death during delivery, between 16 and 20 women suffer from debilitating complications, one of them being obstetric fistula. He therefore said it was encouraging to see that Vodacom, Vodafone Group and CCBRT were working to restore dignity to women affected by fistula.
He also commended Vodacom Tanzania through M-Pesa to cut transport costs for fistula patients, who want to travel to CCBRT for treatment of their condition. Through Vodacom M-Pesa services, fare for bus tickets can be sent to a CCBRT designated ambassador, who purchases the ticket for the patient. Vodafone Group Foundation Chairman, Mr Andrew Dunnet, hailed the president for his support.
He said that President Kikwete’s leadership in improving mother and child healthcare services as well as efforts to reduce mother and child mortality rate were well recognized in the world. Mr Dunnet said that this week the Moyo Challenge campaign will also be taking place in 27 countries in the world where Vodafone operates with the intention of collecting the 7 million pounds Vodafone Group Foundation had promised. CCBRT Chief Executive Officer, Mr Erwin Telemans, also cautioned that fistula is a serious problem in the country thus the need to address it.
Mr Telemans pointed out that every year there are 3,000 new fistula cases in the country but only a small number of the patients get to be operated on, noting that the operation to rid women of the condition is very minor. According to Mr Telemans, only 800 cases get treated annually due to a lack of awareness of the disease and that it is easy to treat, to drive the point home on the need to create awareness, he declared all scribes as ambassadors at large of the campaign to eradicate fistula.
The Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Haji Mponda, told the gathering that the government is striving to improve mother and child healthcare services. He also noted that at the moment there are 25 hospitals in 18 regions countrywide which are capable of treating obstetric fistula and commended CCBRT for their efforts.
Vodacom Tanzania Managing Director, Mr Rene Meza, went on record to state that on February 14 this year, Vodacom employees managed to raise a total of 50m/- for the cause in just four hours in what they dubbed Red Heart day. He said that Vodacom, through Vodacom Foundation, will remain committed to support the government in its areas of priority such as education, health and social welfare.
By KILASA MTAMBALIKE, Tanzania Daily News
