Africa-Press – Uganda. The government has received a Shs327 million grant from Japan to construct a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Bwera Hospital in Kasese District.
According to a press release from the Japanese embassy, the grant is part of the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) programme established to assist NGOs and local public authorities in responding to development needs.
Bwera General Hospital serves more than 1,000 people from Kasese, Fort Portal, eastern DR Congo and neighbouring towns.
“The construction of the neonatal intensive care unit, including a recovery room, incubator room, and kangaroo care room and doctor’s office at Bwera Hospital, will improve the neonatal care environment in the district and contribute to reducing the neonatal mortality rate,” the press statement reads in part.
The unit will also have 27 dditional beds to accommodate more babies, especially the prematurely born.
During the signing of the pact, the chief executive director of Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation, Dr Dithan Kiragga, said nearly 800 babies born at Bwera Hospital suffer neonatal complications annually.
“We examined data from the hospital for the last one year, and we noted that close to 4,000 deliveries happen and 20 percent of these babies suffer neonatal complications,” Dr Kiragga said.
The neonatal conditions include prematurity, neonatal sepsis, and asphyxia, among others.
Dr Diana Atwine, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health, welcomed the support, saying the hospital also serves non Ugandans since it is near the border, which stretches the ministry’s resources.
“If you find the statistics of the districts on the border, more than 50 percent of the people who access our health services are from our neighbouring countries. This is our policy that we are here to support our brothers [and sisters] and that is why we are hosting a big number of refugees because we do believe that we are one,” Dr Atwine said.
She added the neonatal centre in Bwera is a strategic decision that will change the lives of children.
“It will reduce referrals to Fort Portal and Mbarara. That is how we lose babies because by the time they reach the referrals many have died,” Dr Atwine said.
Deaths
According to Unicef, an average of 20,000 new born babies die annually during the neonatal period, especially upcountry due to poor facilities and complications during birth.
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