February 6, 2010, 9:49 pm

Your Comments on my Sunday Congo Column

By NICHOLAS KRISTOF

My Sunday column is again from Congo, through the lens of a doctor (Denis Mukwege) and his patient (Jeanne Mukuninwa). They are both extraordinary figures, and Dr. Mukwege is sometimes mentioned — most deservedly — as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. His Panzi Hospital is an oasis in South Kivu, just as the Heal Africa Hospital is in North Kivu.

(There is, though, a widespread misapprehension that most of the vaginal fistulas here are caused by rape. Some are, but the great majority are now caused by obstructed labor in childbirth. In 2009, Panzi Hospital received about 400 fistula cases, with about eight caused by rape. But Panzi receives about 10 rape cases a day, and those are only the tip of the iceberg, since most rape survivors never seek treatment.)

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