Govt unveils plan to combat obstetric fistula
The national health authorities, along with the United Nations (UN), have launched a countrywide strategy to combat obstetric fistula (OF), which is a traumatic injury in women resulting from severe or failed childbirth. This disease is commonly associated with poverty because of its tendency to occur among women in poor countries, who lack health resources compared to those in developed nations. The strategy was unveiled at a workshop on National Fistula Strategy at CIRDAP auditorium in the capital yesterday. The ceremony was organised by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) in association with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). According to the strategy guidelines, the aim is to reduce the annual incidence of OF by 30 per cent by 2016 through the implementation of a multifaceted approach of quality OF information and services and safe motherhood activities, including family planning. Another prime objective is to reduce the prevalence of the disease by 50 per cent by 2016 by improving access to treatment and care, including decentralising up to divisions, districts and upazilas. It also plans to rehabilitate and reintegrate all women suffering from OF into their families and communities.
OF most often occurs among poor and vulnerable women, especially those living in rural areas without adequate medical services. It most commonly results from obstructed labour and disproportionately affects young women during their first pregnancy, said specialists.
Yet, genital fistula is preventable with good maternity care, and treatable with good medical care, said Melissa Jones, director of Population, Health, Nutrition and Education Programs, USAID Bangladesh. Champa Begum of Mymensingh said: I was forced to get married when I was only 12. I got pregnant just after three months of marriage and I gave birth to a dead child after suffering from labour pain for five days. I fell ill after that. Later, my husband married again. After seven months of intense suffering, a neighbour took me to the National Fistula Centre at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) for treatment. I got cured after that and returned to my in-laws house.
In most cases, prolonged labour during childbirth results in the baby being stillborn or dies within the first week of birth, and the woman suffers from fistula that leaves her incontinent.
The National Fistula Centre at DMCH was opened last year as the first-ever centre of excellence in the country, aimed at providing better healthcare facilities for OF patients.
OF is a significant issue of maternal morbidity in our country. The strategic directions outlined in the paper are a reflection of the governments commitment, enthusiasm and efforts to eradicate OF, said Syed Monjurul Islam, secretary of the health and family planning ministry, who attended the programme as the chief guest. Argentina Matavel Piccin, country representative of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), said: The present national strategy on OF will serve as a guideline for policy decisions and actions needed for the eradication of the disease in Bangladesh.
