Vaginal Politics Day 2: DR Congo South Kivu chronicles August 16, 2010

In an infrastructure and cash-strapped country, where corruption rules and chaos is not a choice, what’s more important? Funding more “fixing of Problem X” or funding ways to prevent Problem X while maintaining current methods by which Problem X gets fixed?  From what I gleaned at the hospital today, the doctors and other powers-that-be choose option #2.  To sum up, “retention and prevention” are the keys to fistula eradication in South Kivu, DRC- find ways to retain the talented local fistula surgeons who leave to find the “beyond fistula” training they cannot get at Panzi Hospital, and develop ways to improve obstetric care so that fistulas don’t occur in the first place.  When money is scarce, common sense pays bigger dividends.

The internet is slllloooow as cold molasses on a winter day here. It took me 45 minutes to post this post- (bad news)

It’s the dry season, hasn’t rained in 6 weeks, and without a single paved road in Bukavu, it’s a veritable dust bowl. So I promised our driver “I’ll make sure it rains tonight.” At 9 pm it POURED BUCKETS for about an hour. By now, this man must think I’m a witch – (good news)

More tomorrow, Mouseketeers.