Swahili Translation of Council Publication on Fistula Lauded  A Swahili translation of the Population Council’s “Healing Wounds, Instilling Hope: The Tanzanian Partnership Against Obstetric Fistula” was introduced to a standing-room-only crowd at a meeting in October officiated by the Permanent Secretary of the Tanzanian Ministry of Health, Mariam J. Mwaffisi, in Dar es Salaam. Also available in English and French, this latest issue of the Council’s Quality/Calidad/Qualité booklet series, written by Council program coordinator Erica Chong, documents the partnership formed by a hospital program, nongovernmental organizations, and the Tanzanian government to identify and treat women with fistula while also seeking to identify and address its root causes. The Swahili version was translated, printed, and distributed by the Women’s Dignity Project of Tanzania.
Speakers at the two-hour event included Charles Majinge, director of the Bugando Medical Centre, who gave a presentation about the center’s fistula program; nurse Yasinta Mkama, who related the story of a fistula patient in her care; and Maggie Banger, founding member of the Fistula Project at Bugando, who linked fistula to women’s rights and issued a call for action to improve maternal health. The launch and the booklet received extensive coverage by Tanzanian television, radio, and newspapers. It is available free at www.popcouncil.org/publications/qcq/default.htm. This edition of Q/C/Q was partially funded by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Ford Foundation. (Return to issue contents)
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