Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) has donated various medical equipment to Kawempe National Referral Hospital as part of its annual corporate social responsibility program, which is meant to support government’s efforts to improve maternal health and child care services.
On Wednesday, April 12th, Mercy K. Kainobwisho, the Registrar General, handed over the donation on behalf of URSB.
Among the items donated were digital ultrasound machines, baby scales, weighing scales, boxes of glucometer strips, and ultrasound gel, all of which are essential for safe delivery and child care.
According to Kainobwisho, the gesture was made in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG-3) to accelerate the decline of maternal mortality by 2030.
“We believe it is every mother’s right to access good medical services as she goes through one of the best experiences life has to offer: bringing life into this world. From our assessment, we realized that service delivery at the hospital has been affected by inadequate medical equipment; the patient-to-medical equipment ratio in maternal and child health is low, resulting in long queues and untimely service,” Kainobwisho said.
Additionally, Kainobwisho said that in this regard, supplementing the existing equipment will improve service delivery by significantly reducing the amount of time spent in queues and improving the patient ratios to the accessibility of medical equipment in the maternal and child health unit.
According to Dr. Emmanuel Byaruhanga, the Executive Director of Kawempe Hospital, hemorrhage, high blood pressure, and infections cause most maternal deaths in Uganda, but if detected early and properly treated, these causes can be prevented.
“I want to thank our friends and partners from URSB for this contribution, which will go a long way in supporting us to deliver healthy babies and ensure safe delivery for our mothers at Kawempe Referral Hospital, especially at this critical time when infant mortality rates are on the rise,” he said.
According to a UNICEF report of 2020, the maternal mortality rate in Uganda remains relatively high at 336 deaths per 100,000 live births.
Kawempe Hospital presently delivers an average of 60 babies per day, the highest in the country.