By Robert Edwomu
KATAKWI
Poor Health Care services in Guyaguya sub county Katakwi district has compelled Child Fund International through Partner’s for Children’s Worldwide to inject 7 million shillings to health outreach.
Partners for Children worldwide on Thursday, 21st October 2021, took a Health camp to the Sub County in a bid to ease distant health services affecting people.
The camp involved activities like Immunization for children, Women and girls, Antenatal care, family planning, covid-19 vaccination, Cancer screening, HIV testing and counselling among others.
George Masuba, the program Manager Partners for Children Worldwide says that the initiative is derived from looking at the distant health services, bad roads, and remoteness of the area that can’t allow patients to get to the facility easily.
He says the organizations would always love to have at least two Health camps annually looking at the magnitude of the problem but resources sometimes constrain.
Betty Isoto, the Assistant Officer Midwifery Aakum Health Center II Guyaguya Sub County praised the outreach saying it is a blessing to many people who couldn’t get to the facilities.
She notes that the cost, long distance and poor roads challenges many patients from getting to Health Units for services.
She says some pregnant Women have failed to go for Antenatal and deliver on the way, in swamps at the hands of the traditional birth attendants.
To her the outreach enabled them to offer various services to close to 1,000 people that turned up.
She notes that vaccines like DPT-HEB+HIP, PCV, ROTA, Measles Rubella, TB, BCG, T-T and Covid-19 among others were administered to Women, men and children respectively.
Isoto reveals that the distant services have made mothers lose their newly born babies due to poor delivery methods and lack of vaccination for the babies.
Martha Ikupa, a pregnant mother narrates that long distance and bad roads makes it hard for them to access the services prompting them to run to Traditional Birth Attendants (TBA) that charge them some little amount.
She states that Traditional Birth Attendants (TBA) use herbs for massaging them cheaply because even Boda-Boda’s are expensive and costs between four to eight thousands depending on the personality.
Josephine Akello, aged 26years with 5 children reveals that two of her children were delivered by TBA.
Agnes Akiteng, aged 36 with 6 children disclosed that she delivered her sixth baby on the way due to bad roads that could not allow them to reach the facility faster.
Emmanuel Ongala, the district health officer Katakwi acknowledges that residents trek for 21kms to 30kms to the nearest Health Center to access at least substantial services.
He observes that the government’s pause on opening of new health units worsens the situation.
He cited that poor road network has left many patients unable to access basic medical services even from the nearest facility which is 21km distance
Amos Otim, the chairperson LCIII Guyaguya sub county says during the rainy season, the roads are muddy and impassable for motorized means therefore cutting off access to many services not only health.
Otim notes that the sub county has a population of 13,000 people who face numerous service delivery issues.
He reveals that he wrote to the district to intervene in the situation but till to date no positive response is received.
He further applauds Partners for Children Worldwide for conducting a Health camp that made his people access services the district couldn’t deliver.
