The Ministry of Health (MoH) has unveiled a new fistula national treatment strategy that intends to address the high number of fistula cases in the country.

Dr. Rony Bahatungire, the Acting Commissioner of Clinical Services in the Ministry of Health, stated that the strategy includes raising the number of specialized surgeons from 25 to more, decentralizing fistula care to districts, and reducing the number of health institutions.

He made these remarks on May 8, 2024, at the ministry of health offices ahead of fistula day celebrations to be held in Namutumba district on May 23, 2024 every year.

“As the ministry, we have since undertaken interventions to ensure that we address this concern by implementing what we call enhanced training in obstetrics to ensure that the skill sets of our surgeons have been enhanced and therefore reduce the risk of injuries among our surgeons,” Bahatungire stated.

He further said that through the training, mothers are able to attend antenatal care, where all these messages are passed on to them, like birth planning, and a mother is also assessed to determine whether she will be able to deliver a baby normally or not.

According to Bahatungire, Uganda’s fistula annual case burden has reached 1,900, with most cases attributed to high teenage pregnancies and delayed antenatal visits.

He further explained that an obstetric fistula is a hole between the birth canal, bladder, and rectum caused by prolonged, obstructed labor without access to timely, high-quality medical treatment.

He added that pre-disposing factors of obstetric fistula include teenage pregnancy and child marriages, mothers delivering under unskilled birth attendants, mothers not attending routine antenatal ‘care,’malnutrition, limited male involvement in supporting pregnant mothers, and poverty.

Bahatungire noted that in Uganda, Buganda, Ankole, and Lango sub-regions account for the highest number of birth injuries, while Rwenzori and Karamoja have the least number of birth injuries.