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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Stanbic Bank Uganda together with other well-wishers, have donated medical mama kits worth UGX35.5 million to Kawempe Referral Hospital as part of its year-ender Corporate Social Investment programme.
The donation is part of an ongoing campaign in which the bank and several other organisations and well-wishers, have been supporting efforts to improve maternal health in Uganda under the theme, ‘Every Mother Counts’.
Barbara Kasekende, the Stanbic Bank corporate social investment manager handed over the kit on behalf of the bank on Nov.06.
“Increasing the maternal survival rate is an important goal for the bank and every member of the community because it enhances social-economic transformation,” Kasekende said, “at Stanbic Bank, we believe mothers are nation builders and any support given to them would go a long way in building Uganda,” she added.
Donations of this nature contribute to the new target of the Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG3) – to accelerate the decline of maternal mortality by 2030.
The latest donation is in addition to the UGX24 million made in July this year. The bank also partnered with Rotary International in September this year to push for the same cause.
The bank chose Kawempe Referral Hospital as a focal beginning point because it continues to register the highest patient numbers and mortality deaths. It receives over 4000 pregnant women a month, from all parts of the country and delivers an average of 100 babies daily.
However, the hospital also reported the highest number of maternal deaths at 116, followed by Hoima (46), Masaka (38), Fort Portal (37), and Mbale RRH (33), according to the 2019/2020 Annual Health Sector Performance Report.
Dr. Lawrence Kazibwe, the Acting Deputy Director and Clinical Head at Kawempe Hospital said, some of the leading causes of maternal deaths in Uganda are haemorrhage, high blood pressure and infections that are largely preventable if detected early enough.
“We are sure that this contribution will provide clean and safe delivery to our mothers at Kawempe Referral Hospital especially at this critical time when the country awaits full reopening,” Dr. Kazibwe said.
According to the World Health Organization, while motherhood is considered a fulfilling natural experience, a high percentage of women face several challenges that cause them to suffer and in some cases, to die.
The maternal mortality rate in Uganda remains relatively high at 336 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to a 2020 UNICEF report.
