KAMPALA, Uganda (UGNEWSLINE) –The Ministry of Health has reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that every woman in Uganda suffering from obstetric fistula and other childbirth-related injuries receives quality treatment, dignity and support to rebuild her life.
Dr Richard Mugahi, Commissioner for Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health at the Ministry of Health, made the remarks while representing the Ministry’s State Minister for Primary Health Care, Dr Charles Ayume, at celebrations marking 20 years of TERREWODE’s work supporting women affected by obstetric fistula.
The event also saw the launch of TERREWODE’s Individualized Community Reintegration Model, a survivor-centred initiative designed to support women beyond medical treatment by helping them regain social acceptance, economic independence and dignity within their communities.
Dr Mugahi commended TERREWODE for its two decades of work and pledged continued government collaboration with the organisation and other partners, including the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), to ensure that no woman affected by fistula or birth injuries is left without care.
He revealed that through partnerships with TERREWODE and other stakeholders, more than 10,000 women have progressively received fistula repair services across the country.
However, he emphasised that surgical treatment alone cannot fully address the challenges faced by survivors, noting that many require continued psychosocial and economic support to rebuild their lives.
“Repairing the fistula alone is not the answer. These women also need to be reintegrated into their communities and supported through livelihood programmes so that they can become economically empowered,” Dr Mugahi said.
He explained that the newly introduced reintegration programme seeks to ensure that women who undergo fistula repair are equipped with income-generating opportunities that enable them to achieve financial independence and live meaningful lives.
Dr Mugahi noted that economic empowerment is particularly important because poverty and limited economic opportunities contribute to the vulnerability of women affected by childbirth-related injuries.
He added that government, through the Ministries of Health and Gender, Labour and Social Development, in collaboration with local governments, would explore ways of linking organised fistula survivors to existing empowerment initiatives, including the Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for Women Enterprises (GROW) project and the Parish Development Model (PDM).
He said survivors organised into associations could benefit from financial support and other economic opportunities, enabling them to sustain their livelihoods while contributing to efforts to prevent fistula.
Meanwhile, TERREWODE founder and Executive Director Alice Emasu Seruyange said the Individualized Community Reintegration Model was developed in 2005 and has since helped thousands of women become agents of change in their communities.
She called on the Ministry of Health to institutionalise and standardise the model to ensure its wider adoption and sustainability.
Emasu also urged government agencies, the Ministry of Gender and local governments to support the initiative, particularly through the 131 survivor-led Fistula Solidarity Groups established across the country.
The model adopts a comprehensive approach that begins within communities before treatment and continues after surgery. Its interventions include psychosocial support, peer networking, rights education, social acceptance and economic empowerment.
One of the beneficiaries, Namakoye Elsie, who received free treatment for rectovaginal fistula, encouraged other women experiencing similar conditions to seek medical attention.
She recounted how the condition had forced her into isolation because of persistent leakage and the associated smell, adding that treatment had restored her confidence and dignity.
She urged women living with fistula to seek help at TERREWODE Women’s Community Hospital rather than suffer in silence.
Through its two decades of work, TERREWODE has supported more than 10,000 women and girls affected by fistula and related childbirth injuries.
The organisation says its reintegration approach recognises that while surgery repairs physical injuries, sustained community support and economic empowerment are essential to helping survivors recover their confidence, rebuild their livelihoods and reclaim their place in society.
