Kuluva hospital receives equipment to save premature babies

Arua, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Kuluva Hospital in Arua district has received a significant boost in its maternal and child health services following a donation of medical equipment to help premature babies survive.  A premature also known as a preterm baby is one born alive before 37 weeks of pregnancy.

The equipment donated by UNICEF comes at a time when the facility had been using ordinary basins as baby cots to manage premature babies to enable them to grow to their full potential. Dr. Patricia Alesi Munduru, in charge of the Maternal and Neonatal Ward unit at the facility, says that the equipment donated will go a long way in ensuring optimal care is offered to premature babies taken to the ward.

Among the donated equipment include baby cots, an Oxygen concentrator, and Continuous positive airway pressure CPAP, which is commonly used in the treatment of sleep apnea, a condition where breathing stops and starts repeatedly during sleep.

Hellen Asibazuyo, a patient at the facility believes that the donated equipment will reduce the burden of referrals which most mothers who give birth to premature babies normally face. Meanwhile, Dr. Alex Atiku, the director of the hospital, welcomed the donations noting that it has come at a time when the facility is faced with financial constraints that limit them from acquiring such vital medical equipment.

Speaking during the handover of the equipment on Wednesday, Dr. Mohamed El-Munir Safieldin, the outgoing UNICEF Country director explained that they decided to donate the equipment to Kuluva Hospital because it has been operating under difficult circumstances.

According to information obtained from the Ministry of Health Over 200,000 babies are born prematurely annually. Kuluva Hospital which is a church of Uganda is a Private not-for-profit (PNFP) facility that was established in 1948 by missionaries.

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