Health & Nutrition

Expectant women are relieved after the commissioning of a Shs390m maternity ward at  Buwumba Health Centre II in Dabani Sub-county at the weekend.

Winfred Nekesa, a resident of Bumakwa Village, said the facility lacked a maternity ward yet the distance from Buwumba to Masafu Hospital is about 10 kilometres.

“Because of the long distance, most expectant women have either been delivering from home under the care of traditional birth attendants or on the way to the hospital,” she said. 

Buwumba Health Centre II is, however, understaffed with only two medical workers, meaning with more services being brought to the facility, the number of people seeking services are likely to increase.

Dinah Alepus, the only midwife at the facility, said more health workers should be deployed. “We have started recording more patients coming to this facility because of the maternity wing and  we shall soon be overwhelmed by the numbers if the district does not recruit more staff ,” Alepus said. 

She added that delivering at home and in the hands of unqualified persons may lead to loss of lives. 

“We have been receiving reports of deaths from the communities arising from challenges of deliveries conducted at home,” Alepus added. 

The maternity ward was commissioned at Buwumba Health Centre II by the Busia Area Communities Federation (BUACOFE), with support from ChildFund, a child development organisation that provides assistance to vulnerable children.

Semu Okumu, the manager of BUACOFE, said before the construction of the facility, they carried out a survey, which established that mothers in the area were having challenges accessing maternal and child health services.

“It was hard for mothers to walk long distances to Masafu Hospital to access health services,”  Okumu said. 

Geoff rey Wandera, the Busia District chairperson, said they plan to construct outpatient departments and staff quarters at all health centre IIs before recruiting more staff.

Bennah Nanyama, the assistant Busia District health officer, said the district has 22 health centre IIs, which they plan to upgrade to health centre IIIs.This story was first published in the Daily Monitor.