G77 spouses visit Entebbe Children’s Surgical Hospital

Entebbe, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Fabrice Brad Rulinda, the Mayor of Entebbe, emphasized the pressing need to establish additional healthcare facilities to augment specialized services, especially for underprivileged communities. The mayor’s insightful remarks were delivered on Sunday evening as he addressed the spouses of G77 summit delegates during their visit to the Entebbe Children’s Surgical Hospital.

The visit provided a unique platform for spouses to engage in the exchange of experiences and insights, fostering a collaborative discussion on ways to enhance healthcare systems in their respective countries. Mayor Rulinda underscored the challenges faced by underprivileged individuals in accessing high-quality and specialized healthcare, often hindered by the prohibitive costs associated with such services.

He passionately expressed the need for expanding better healthcare facilities, highlighting the pressing necessity to bridge the gap in accessibility.

Considering that the visited facility is a unique establishment in Uganda, built with assistance from a non-governmental organization, Rulinda depicted the facility as a poignant representation of humanity’s ability to lend support to one another. He underscored the significant impact that additional specialized healthcare facilities could make in addressing disparities and ensuring healthcare accessibility across all segments of society.

Janet Kataha Museveni, the First Lady of Uganda, conveyed comparable sentiments concerning the delivery of enhanced healthcare. In her address, she emphasized the critical importance of addressing healthcare challenges and ensuring the well-being of the younger demographic, considering that over half of Uganda’s population is below 15 years of age.

The visited Entebbe facility stands as a symbol of exemplary healthcare, providing specialized medical services free of charge to patients not only from Uganda but also across the continent. Established in 2021 by the Italian non-governmental organization known as EMERGENCY, this facility serves a dual purpose by also acting as a training center for medical students hailing from various regions of Africa and Italy.

Within Uganda, the hospital has become a key reference point for elective pediatric surgery, resulting in a notable threefold increase in pediatric surgery beds across the country. The facility specializes in elective surgeries, with a primary focus on addressing a wide range of medical issues, including birth defects, urological and gynecological conditions, abnormalities in the gastrointestinal tract, illnesses of the bile duct, cheiloschisis (cleft lip, affecting one child in 800), and other pathologies of broader surgical significance.

Addressing the G77 spouses, Uganda’s Health Minister, Jane Ruth Aceng, stressed the importance of considering Entebbe as a shining example of how countries can efficiently deliver healthcare. Aceng highlighted that the hospital they visited, along with its services, stands as a vivid demonstration of the accomplishments achievable through collaborative efforts between the government and non-governmental entities, including NGOs.

She further emphasized that the success of the facility should inspire other countries. Aceng encourages nations to embrace the collaborative model between government and private entities to attain tangible and sustainable results in healthcare delivery.

In recent years, Uganda has made significant progress in specialized treatment by acquiring more equipment and establishing necessary facilities. In addition to the children’s facility in Entebbe, the country boasts other specialized centers such as Mulago Specialized Women and Neonatal Hospital, among others.

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