Blog # 8: Ugandan women 'need access to medical care to help lower the number of fistula cases'

The Ugandan Ministry of Health found that two hundred thousand women are currently living with fistula.  Fistula is a disease in which a hole grows in between the bladder and the vagina.  This hole occurs because of complications from child birth.  It is widely known that women in Uganda generally deliver their children at the home.  This article is short in words, but monumental in ramifications.  We are currently studying population and health.  It is known that undeveloped countries and population growth are correlated.  It is also known that growing, undeveloped countries are correlated with a lack of adequate health care.  A lack of adequate health care contributes to poorer health in these countries.  In the case of the women in Uganda suffering from fistula, a lack of adequate health care and professional health services could potentially lead to complications after birth.  If these women were admitted to quality hospitals with quality care, these occurrences would be greatly diminished.  Dr. Olive Sentumbwe, director of Family Health and Population at World Health Organization in Kampala, said that women should be able to deliver with the assistance of a trained health worker because delivering a child is already a way in which someone can develop life-threatening complications.  As the population grows in undeveloped countries, we will continue to see these types of results until there is more of an effort to deliver quality health care to these countries.  Clinics must be built throughout these countries, because undeveloped countries are still sparsely populated and medical care must come to them in order to better the health of these populations.

http://www.figo.org/news/ugandan-women-need-access-medical-care-help-lower-number-fistula-cases-0011073