LRA war victims get free surgery for bombs, bullet wounds

Lamwo, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT  |  Victims of the Lord’s Resistance Army-LRA insurgency in Acholi Sub-region have started benefiting from a one-week free corrective surgical camp in Lamwo district.  

A team of surgeons from Uganda and Help a Child Face Tomorrow based in Kenya in partnership with Health Right Internationalstarted the surgical camp on Tuesdayat Padibe Health Center IV.  

The activity is supported by Trust Fund for Victims.   

Lucy Acan, the team leader for health Right International, Lamwo cluster says they have already identified 400 patients who have started benefiting from the free surgery.  

She says the surgeons will conduct free surgeries to remove bullets and bomb splinters stuck in some of the patients and correct bone defects as a result of beatings and carrying heavy loads while in captivity.  

Acan says so far 103 patients have turned up within the three days adding that 50 successfully underwent minor surgery while selected 53 are set to be referred to Kitgum general hospital for major operations. 

She says the referrals are due to the limited operation equipment at Padibe Health Center IV.

Professor Dr Meshach Onguti Nyamiaka, a maxillofacial surgeon heading the team of surgeons for the surgical camp says the activity is aimed at restoring hope among the victims of the LRA war.

Dr Nyamiaka says they are pairing with their counterparts in Uganda to ensure that the victims get the best medical treatment.

Albertina Akech 57, a resident of Kot Omor Sub-County in Agago district is one of the beneficiaries of the free medical surgery who is able to walk on her own again after 16 years of using clutches.

Akech who has been living with a bullet in her left thigh since 2003 when LRA rebels shot her was operated on Thursday and the bullet removed.

She says the surgery has restored her hope of being productive adding that she will embark on farming after healing.

The surgical camp is expected to end on December 6th next month. Other services being offered are psychosocial support and counselling for some of the victims of the war.

The LRA war in Northern Uganda that took two decades from1986 to 2006 led by elusive leader Joseph Kony devastated many lives in the region and saw displacement of more 1.5 million people into displacement camps while tens of thousands of people were killed. 

There are estimated thousands of people within the region who are believed to still be living with bullets and bomb splinters in their bodies as a result of the war.

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