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SUNDAY VISION ,August 31, 2014

47

the villagers face the grave daily

whispers. She should have gone to
hospital at the slightest fever but
there is none on the island.
A kilometre or so from Achans
home, I find Jessica Aarakit who is
six months pregnant. Not once has
she gone for antenatal check-up, it is
a luxury. It takes about sh2,000 (less
than a dollar) by boat, then another
sh3,000 by motorcycle to get to a
health centre in Ongino.
So I am waiting to save more
money so that I can go to the
mainland early enough, Aarakit
confesses. The island, whose
occupants are largely peasants,
charcoal burners and few fishermen,
live in abject poverty.
When you give birth, you need
at least sh30,000. So I am saving
sh1,000 every week until the last
month, the young mother says.
It was such practice that caused
Achans son to be born pre-term
and it is the same reason Helen
Atyang, who lives a kilometre or so
away from Aarakit has had three
miscarriages.
In the morning, you suddenly
get feverish, by afternoon, it is a
miscarriage and you do not even
know why, Atyang confesses.
Perepetwa Ibere, a village leader,
says that many women have died
during childbirth or due to over
bleeding from miscarriages.
I cannot forget a lady called
Liman, the wife of Opio. She gave
birth from home, but it was a
complicated delivery so she bled a
lot and died before we could even
reach the boat, She says.
Ibere swears that nearly every
woman on the island has lost a child
either after they are born or through
a miscarriage. Many of these
children are born and die without
any single record of their existence,
unless born in a hospital.
Harriet Dikili, a mother of six
has children with nicknames as
interesting as Atitipu a Teso word
for ant-hill.
I have six children; two were
born in my compound, two near
the hospital and the other two near
anthill, she says.
She says labour always got her
unprepared because sometimes,
she barely knew how advanced the
pregnancy was and at times she got
the months mixed up.
But even when these women
labour in the bushes, Ibere says
there is not a single glove for those
who might want to help.
Once, a young girl delivered
on a boat, in the dark and I used

Adikili gave birth on an anthill

Omongot and his wives

show some of their
childrens graves
a polythene bag, as a glove. This
exposes us to HIV! She lamented.
The 2013 State of Uganda
Population Report states that,
all women face some level of
risk during delivery. Quite often,
40% experience pregnancy
complications, whilst 15% are in
need of obstetric care.
Delivery is a matter of life and
death. There should be a trained
person to ensure that death does not
occur, Hellen Namaganda, a senior
midwife at the Soroti Regional
Referral Hospital, says.
Child mortality
The people of Tisai have lost count
of the children who die on the island
either at birth, before birth or a few
years into the world. If the child
is not a grown man or woman, just
prepare for the worst, Ibere says.
She further says if these children
survive, Immunisation is a luxury
their parents can barely afford.
Jessica Adiochi, who has eight
children with four born at home and
have never been immunised says:
If you give birth successfully, you
wait until you get money to go to
the mainland. Sometimes, this could
take close to a year! she says.

The hut in which the writer spent the night.

But even when the

women labour in
the bushes, there is
not a single glove
for those who
might want to help
At the island, the bushes are littered
with human waste. When it rains, it
is washed into the lake. Sadly, this
lake is the only source of water on
the island. During day, you will see
little boys on tiny canoes going to
fetch water.
Ibere confirms that most of
the deaths are from malaria-like
symptoms and diahorrea.
My baby died at 10 months. He
had a fever and a running stomach
and by evening, he was dead before
I could even leave the Island! she
says.
Stella Akiteng, had 10 children but
sadly, only five are alive.
It was malaria, the child would

sweat or start shivering and die

shortly afterwards, she says.
Agnes Kedi says she had to start
all over again after all seven of her
children died.
When one clocks one, he/she
dies. Another reaches two, he dies.
Another one is still a newly-born
baby, he dies, she says.
A report titled Ending New
Born Deaths by Save the Children
early this year states that 10% of
all newborn babies require help
breathing on the first day. According
to Aaron Kugonza, a doctor with
Child Health, anything can go wrong
before or after a child is born.
Until the body learns how to
defend itself, a child is always
delicate and that is why their first
1,000 days should be monitored,
he said.
John Francis Oluka, the health
inspector of Ongino sub-county,
revealed that Tisais problems are
far from over. We had a plan to
drill a well but the contractors said
the nature of the Island does not
work well with the hilly Island. But
we plan to dig a latrine this financial
year at the school, he said.
Maternal and child health, which
are the most wanting of services on

A young boy goes to fetch water on the lake

Achans newborn was

eaten by wild pigs
this island, are nowhere in the plan.
MP Oboi says the biggest obstacle
to development for the island has
been poor transport. Though a
bridge at the narrow part of Lake
Opeta could connect the islanders
to the mainland, it is still a long way
to go.
We need over sh1b yet we have
less than half of that money. If only
this road could be repaired, maybe
we can entice some health workers
to the island, he said.
Can Tisai benefit from
Government's new promise?
The UNFPA 2012 annual report
states that at least 16 mothers
die every day during or after
childbirth in Uganda. This means
the country has failed to meet the
fifth Millenium Development Goal
(MDG) of reducing maternal deaths
to 131 per 1,000 live births. The
UNFPA report also states that 454
mothers die every year per 100,000
live births.
According to the House Hold
Survey Data and Modelled
Estimates, approximately 200,000
children in Uganda die before their
first birthday. This contradicts MDG
4, which seeks to reduce child
mortality towards zero by 2015. So
as we enter the post MDG phase,
the Ugandan Government has recommitted to achieving these goals.
In alignment with the countrys
Vision 2040, the Reproductive
Maternal Newborn Child Health
Sharpened Plan with the theme A
Promise Renewed has been rolled
out by the health ministry and
partners.
This, together with the United
Nations Proposed Sustainable
Development Goals to be attained
by 2030, should erase maternal
mortality by 2040. But will the
mothers and children of Tisai island
benefit this time round? As I left
the Island, they had but one plea,
Please President Museveni, do not
forget us!