Uganda’s Prime Minister, Ms Robinah Nabanja, observes that as girls climb the academic ladder, the opportunity cost of marrying at a tender age that results in obstetric fistula during childbirth, which has become a common ailment among mothers of childbearing age, decreases. Uganda.

Obstetric fistula is a hole in the birth canal caused by dystonic labor.

In a communication read for her by the Minister of Health in charge of General Duties, Mrs. Hanifah Kawoya at the International Day to End Fistula held in the town of Hoima, in west-central Uganda, the Prime Minister stated that empirical evidence indicates that the younger the age, the greater the risk of suffering obstetric fistula.

International obstetric records show that women aged 20 to 24 are 70% less likely to suffer from fistula than women aged 7 to 19.

As such, Ms. Nabanja asserts that getting girls into schools is one of the main weapons that can be directed against this life-shattering medical condition in the country.

To achieve this, the Prime Minister challenges parents to warn, counsel and educate their daughters about the health risks that expose any young girl who engages in premature sexual acts to conception and likely complications during childbirth.

She revealed that, like all other regions of Uganda with cases of obstetric fistula, the Bunyoro region has a record two percent of cases which keep affected mothers in distress and a burden on the Ugandan economy as it leads to low productivity due to poor personal health.

The Prime Minister appreciated the various government partners such as civil society organizations, religious leaders and all the private institutions that have stepped in to tackle maternal healthcare to combat obstetric fistula.

In Uganda, the International Day to End Obstetric Fistula was held this week on the Hoima boma grounds in the town of Hoima under the theme: “20 years of progress is not enough! Take action to end obstetric fistula by 2030. ”