According to a recent report by the United Nations (UN), Uganda records up to 191 maternal and infant fatalities every day as a result of the shortage of better healthcare and high disease burden.
During a meeting with representatives from the Health Ministry, Dr. Othiniel Musaa, the President of the Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Uganda (AOGU), revealed this number in Kampala last Friday. The Ministry of Health has subsequently rejected it.
According to Dr. Musana, 191 infants and women pass away every day in Uganda. That number exceeds how many people a genocide would kill. The country has a large number of specialists, but they are all unemployed.
The purpose of the meeting was to create the National Surgical, Obstetrics, and Anesthesia Plan (NSOAP), which will help the nation deal with the two million Ugandans who cannot receive surgical services there annually.
Dr. Musana continued by saying that people should seek medical attention at Health Center IVs because the facilities are close by, but since they aren’t entirely functional, everyone prefers to go to Kawempe National Referral Hospital. Only 11% of mothers who require Caesarean sections out of 15% of pregnant women use the services.
According to figures from 2021 provided by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the nation lost 69,025 infants under the age of five, or 189 per day. As per the data from UNICEF, the fatalities include 30,336 male and 38,689 female youngsters.
However, the data from 2021 shows a decrease from the 71,323 child deaths under the age of five in the year 2019, indicating better service delivery. The 21, 351 deaths reported by the government in the health sector performance report for the financial year 2020-2023 are contrasted with the Unicef report on child fatalities.
At a rate of 338 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births, the nation loses about 5,475 mothers per year.
Compared to the government’s estimate of 1,228 deaths in the health sector performance report for the financial year 2020-2021 is the number of maternal deaths.
According to data from the health sector performance report, there were 22,579 fatalities of children under the age of five and maternal deaths combined.
Also Read: Bed Bath & Beyond Files For Bankruptcy; Plans To Liquidate The Inventory And Go Out Of Business
The information regarding the high rate of newborn and maternal mortality is timed to coincide with a Twitter declaration made by concerned Ugandans last week, who said they would begin a syndicated expose of the nation’s healthcare system today on their Twitter handles.
The same group successfully staged a virtual protest last week under the hashtag #KampalaPatholeExhibition to draw attention to significant potholes in the city and how Kampala Capital City Authority had failed to fix them.
The Health Ministry’s associate commissioner for reproductive and newborn health, Dr. Richard Mugahi, stated in a statement to this publication yesterday that the number provided by Dr. Musana is not true for daily deaths. However, he failed to provide either official or alternate figures.
The Ministry of Health defended the accuracy of its data in the health sector performance report stating that the information used for compiling the report was both quantitative and qualitative and consisted primarily of data generated from the Ministry of Health’s Health Management Information System.
According to associate professor Peter Waiswa, an expert in health policy and planning at Makerere University and the reports’ primary analyst, Approximately 50% of deaths in the nation occur at home.
Thus, depending on information from health institutions is an underestimation. He claimed that the UN data is consistently based on records from government agencies, trend tracking, and expert modeling to produce the most recent information.
He claimed that no nationwide study had been conducted by the nation to ascertain the precise number of fatalities. In 2016, the most recent national demographic and health survey was conducted.
On the other hand, not all healthcare facilities are reporting to the ministry through the HMIS according to Musana. He said that the ministry’s data comes primarily from public facilities and a few nonprofit or religious healthcare organizations, like St. Francis Hospital Nsambya.
According to him, the private sector offers about 40% of health services. Although many individuals in the country do not have these ailments, the ministry is actively planning for malaria, HIV, and TB.
Birth-related deaths are increasing, and patients who need surgery for hernias, or bone fractures cannot get it. According to Dr. Musana, they must have a plan to make sure that individuals can receive services at a low cost.
Despite having the necessary equipment, up to 50% of health center IVs do not perform Caesarean sections due to a lack of staff. There are no anesthetists available to work in the theater, despite the government sending doctors to the less sophisticated facilities.
Speaking at the event in Kampala on Friday, Dr. Rony Bahatungire, the ministry’s commissioner for clinical services, said the government is open to suggestions from health professionals that enhance service delivery.
Read More: Kevin Durant Net Worth 2023: How Much Does He Earn?
