Residents of Ruteete sub-county in Burahya county in Kabarole district are excited about the renovation of the maternity ward at Rutete Health Centre III.
Bank of Uganda renovated and equipped the maternity ward through its corporate social responsibility to the tune of Shillings 155 million.
Susan Wakanyemebwa, the Secretary of Bank of Uganda and head of the Bank of Uganda outreach programs, said the Central bank is engaging in corporate social responsibility in all districts across the country where they have got branches.
Wakanyemebwa maintains that they intend to prioritize maternal and child health care for a healthy society to address the increasing cases of child and maternal mortality rate in the country, adding that Ruteete becomes the 5th project to be handed over within 6 years since the bank started a campaign to improve the child and maternal health in 2016.
The Ruteete health Centre III in charge, Dr Tom Mugisa, says that the health Centre serves over 25000 people annually from Ruteete and Kasenda sub-counties and Kiko town council, in addition to the neighbouring Kamwenge and Bunyangabu districts.
Dr Mugisa says inspite of the high number of patients, the facility has been suffering from a shortage of space with severely dilapidated structures built-in 1954 when it was established by the community.
He says this has been hampering service delivery in the sub-county noting that with the intervention of the Bank of Uganda they will improve in all aspects. He, however, expressed concern over the lack of a neonatal section, which he says is key on account that premature births that occur at the facility.
Dr Mugisa also noted that the hospital has observed that a sizable number of children born at the facility are underweight due to the poor feeding of the expectant mothers.
Richard Rwabuhinga, the LC V chairperson of Kabarole district, said the hospital was selected because of the high number of patients it serves. Rwabuhinga is optimistic that the infant and maternal mortality rates will drastically reduce in the area because of the improved infrastructure.
The chairperson said that the facility has been elevated to Health Centre IV by a district council resolution and the ministry of health has offered Shillings 1.5 billion for infrastructural improvement.
Michael Atingi-Ego, the Deputy Governor Bank of Uganda, who was the chief guest at the event to hand over the renovated maternity, said the institution is taking the child and maternal health as a priority following the increasing cases of the child and maternal mortality rate in the country.
Do you have a story in your community or an opinion to share with us: Email us at editorial@watchdoguganda.com
