Rotary Equips Kasangati Health Centre IV With Neonatal Unit to Save Newborns

By PETER SSUUNA

Mothers in Kasangati and surrounding areas who use Kasangati Health Centre IV now have reason to smile. Many will no longer face the risk of losing their newborns minutes or hours after birth.

This follows the efforts of the Rotary Clubs of Kasangati and Bulindo, who mobilized partners to construct and equip a Neonatal Unit at the government facility. The unit is designed to care for newborns with health complications.

The unit has been fitted with modern life-saving equipment, including ventilators to help babies breathe, infant warmers, oxygen monitors, phototherapy machines for jaundice, and other tools aimed at giving critically ill newborns a chance at survival.

The Rotarians handed over the equipment to the hospital in-charge, Dr. Joseline Akugizibwe, who thanked them for responding to the hospital’s urgent appeal.
Dr. Akugizibwe said the health centre delivers over 4,500 babies annually between 450 and 500 each month. “With those numbers, many babies are born with complications,” she noted.

Previously, such cases were referred to Kawempe Hospital. But the long distance meant some babies died on the way, while parents often struggled with transport costs.

She thanked Rotary for their compassion but appealed to Government: “We now have the equipment. What we need are trained staff to operate it effectively.”

Rotary Club of Kasangati President Andrew Kisitu Tebyasa and Bulindo President Paul Lubega said maternal and child health is one of Rotary’s key focus areas.

“After researching the biggest challenge facing mothers and babies here, we saw this gap and mobilized funds to build the unit and install modern equipment,” they said jointly.

They appreciated partners including Centenary Bank and ATC for financial support toward construction and equipping the unit.

District 9213 Governor Geoffrey Martin Kitaakule, chief guest at the handover, said the 10-bed unit will boost child health services. He praised Rotarians for living out the “Rotary Serves” theme.

Dr. Richard Mugahi, Commissioner for Maternal and Child Health at the Ministry of Health, promised that operational challenges at the hospital would be addressed quickly. He confirmed the new unit would start operating immediately to save lives.

He thanked Rotary leadership for complementing Government efforts to improve healthcare.

After the launch, Dr. Ruth Grace Kakoba from the Ministry of Health trained hospital staff on how to use the new equipment.