The recent news that over 320m/- has been secured to support
reproductive health services in and around the Lake Tanganyika region is
heartening.
This is because the relief comes amidst bad reports that up to 25
per cent of the children born in the region die before they even reach
five years of age.
The support has been initiated by the Lake Tanganyika Floating
Health Clinic ( LTFHC) currently operating in the Rukwa Region in order
to reduce the region’s high birthrate and reduce the number of
preventable deaths occurring among women and infants.
The project will among other things provide medical accurate
information about sexual and reproductive health to over 100,000 local
residents.
The endeavour, which is funded by Hivos International, a
development organisation focusing on women empowerment, will provide
access to the contraceptives and one-to-one counseling for thousands
of women, as well as couples.
This is also good news because at the moment contraceptive and prenatal care is hard to come by in many areas in Rukwa Region.
Since childbearing often begins in the teenage years, lack of
related reproductive health information and resources leads to an
exceptionally high birthrate and as well as deaths among women and
children.
We are told by experts that in some areas around Lake Tanganyika,
up to 25 per cent of children are dying before their fifth birthday.
According to the LTFHC’s Chief Programme Officer, Dr Kate McLean
many women are suffering from obstetrical fistula and subsequent social
isolation as a result of going through obstructed labour without medical
assistance.
The expert notes that many births take place in ultra-rural areas
along the lakeshore with only traditional birth attendants present but
in many cases with no professional assistance .
We feel as the custodians of this project the programme will not
only empower local women to take control of their reproductive health
and plan for pregnancy and birth, but also save lives of those involved.
It is known that the region is in many parts inaccessible and lacks
infrastructure making it a major obstacle to provision of adequate
healthcare.
It is a common fact that the reproductive health burden on women
in Tanzania is very high. Recent surveys suggest that the average
Tanzanian woman has 5 to 7 children during her lifetime, and that over
half of all women deliver at home, without any access to skilled birth
care.
Around 10,000 maternal deaths are recorded each year – more than
one per hour. For every woman who dies during child birth, another five
live with chronic illness or permanent disability.
Only one in five women currently use modern contraceptive method,
even though over half of married women report that they would like to
begin using one.
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