History as Nabilatuk, Abim Districts get ambulances

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Government of Ireland, in partnership with the Doctors With Africa (CUAMM), has donated two ambulances to the Nabituluk and Abim districts in the Karamoja Sub-region. This donation aims to improve healthcare management by providing transportation for patients in hard-to-reach areas.

The Nabilatuk District Health Officer, Dr. Peter Lokwang, expressed his gratitude after receiving the ambulances at the Ministry of Health headquarters in Kampala. He revealed that since their district’s creation in 2018, they have been without any ambulance services.

He explained that patients in the region were transported to referral hospitals in open vehicles like pickups to access health centers located along the road.

Dr. Lokwang emphasized that the nomadic nature of the people in the Karamoja region, who frequently move with their animals due to insecurity and other factors, necessitates these ambulances. They will help in transporting people and reducing high child and maternal mortality rates in the region. In the past five years, Karamoja has had one of the highest child and maternal mortality rates, at 750 per 100,000.

However, interventions by the government and NGOs like CUAMM have started to show positive results in reducing these indicators. Dr. Peter Lochoro, the country representative of CUAMM, stated that they have been working in Karamoja for nearly 40 years, focusing solely on healthcare.

They identified Nabilatuk and Abim as having the greatest challenge in referral services due to the absence of any ambulances. The ambulances, worth Shillings 294 million, will greatly aid healthcare in the region.  He also revealed that their operation in Karamoja, which was scheduled to end in October, has received an extension for another two years.

The State Minister of State for Health in charge of general duties, Hanifa Kawooya Bangirana, urged the districts that received the ambulances to use them for their intended purposes. She cautioned against the misuse of ambulances for purposes other than healthcare, such as transporting charcoal and household necessities.

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