Patients on artificial bags that save thousands of lives

For many Kenyans, visiting the toilet is as natural as breathing.

Not many realise the privilege of it all, or even imagine what it would feel like to have the call of nature through an unnatural means.

But this is what thousands of Kenyans who use artificial opening (stoma) to relieve themselves go through.

And getting the clinical bags to attach to the opening is not only cumbersome but very expensive.

“On a normal day an ostomate uses one or two bags in a day, and one costs between Sh800 and Sh1,500,” said Sally Kwenda, Secretary at Stoma World Kenya. She said those who can’t afford the bags use tissue paper, paper bags, sponge, pieces of cloth and even diapers.

Artificial opening

“The bags are important as they enable ostomates to live a normal life. In Kenya Stoma we are about 1,000 members. We have donors from North America who have generously been supplying Stoma World Kenya with bulk donations of bags for more than 10 years while local charities and individuals have been supporting the port clearance and storage,” she said.

Early this month, Stoma World Kenya members faced a crisis due to delay in clearance of bags donated by well wishers in Canada. Although Stoma World Kenya applied for exemption and waiver of duty in December last year, it took about four months to have the bags cleared.

“We did our application for the waiver back in December but because of backlog the Kenya Bureau of Standards was unable to clear everything until February. They then sent it to the Ministry of Industrialisation for approval,” said Ms Kwenda.

The waiver was finally granted, but Kwenda laments it was too late to save two of their members.