Johnson Bitarabeho (2nd right) the Chairperson of Rukararwe board of trustees handing over the ultrasound scan machine to authorities of Bushenyi-Ishaka Municipality recently. Rukararwe acquired the machine from members of Kronshagen-Bushenyi Municipalities (KroBu) Association in Germany. KroBu is partnering with Bushenyi/Ishaka Municipality to implement a number of activities especially in the environment.
Women, especially those pregnant, in Bushenyi/Ishaka Municipality have got a reason to smile after receiving ultrasound scan equipment.
A consignment of the machine from the people of Kronshagen Municipality in Germany was handed over to the authorities of Bushenyi Health Centre IV recently at the facility.
“It’s a requirement for a pregnant mother to go for a scan two times whereby one should be at early pregnancy stage and another in the final stages of the pregnancy but unfortunately some have been having none up to the last minute of delivery,” said the Bushenyi Health Centre IV in-charge Dr Peter Yeeka.
Yeeka was speaking at the function to receive the equipment which was delivered by Rukararwe Partnership workshop for rural development which is coordinating the friendship between Kronshagen and Bushenyi Municipalities (KroBu)
“We have been having this as a gap and now that the machine is here; it’s going to improve the quality of services,” Yeeka said adding, “It has come at the time when the number of pregnant women seeking/opting to deliver from here (government facility) has increased from 30 to over 100 per month.”
Yeeka explained how it has been difficult for pregnant women to seek for this service from outside saying some would afford it while some would go through the pregnancy period without doing any scan. “In private clinics, they charge every visit/scan between Sh 30000= to Sh 40000= and the majority of these women are poor,” Yeeka explained.
Kekimuri Justine a pregnant mother who was found at the facility said, “It has been our concern and very stressing because whenever we would reach here for antenatal services they would tell us to go outside for a scan yet sometimes a pregnant mother is heavy and incapacitated to move here and there …..”
Yeeka also however said the facility currently doesn’t have a trained staff to run the equipment.
The Bushenyi/Ishaka Municipality deputy town clerk Didas Muhanguzi hailed the people of Germany for reaching out to Bushenyi communities. He said through KroBu they signed a memorandum of understanding where they are implementing a number of activities in the areas of health, education and environment.
“Having development partners on board is the way to go because the government cannot work alone; it needs such interventions,” Muhanguzi noted.
Johnson Bitarabeho the chairperson of Rukararwe Board of Trustees said, “we are happy that our friends are making such a contribution to the health of our people here in Uganda.” He said earlier they had donated an ECG machine to the same facility.
“Together with our Bingo and Aku friends in Germany, we have also trained a group of 40 herbalists on issues of HIV/AIDS, counselling and food and nutrition,” he said.
Bitarabeho who is also a member of the public service commission appealed to health workers at the facility to learn how to handle difficult patients. “Don’t be rude. Be kind to them because sometimes some of them are stressed.”
He further encouraged them to be patient with the government on salary increments, revealing that the government is implementing the wage increment policy in a phased manner.