Stanbic Bank Uganda has donated an assortment of medical supplies and equipment to Kajjansi Health Centre IV as part of its Corporate and Investment Banking.
Key among the items handed over on Friday May 26, include gloves, syringes, cotton, mama kits and basic personal protection gear for staff.
The donation is part of an ongoing campaign in which the bank has been supporting efforts to improve maternal health in Uganda.
“Increasing the maternal survival rate is an important goal for the bank and every member of the community because it enhances social-economic transformation,” Mr. Paul Mugerwa, the Head of Corporate and Investment Banking said in a speech read by James Karama.
He added that Stanbic Bank, believes mothers are nation builders and any support given to them would go a long way in building Uganda.
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.
Stanbic Bank also pledged to pay for major renovations at the facility.
Explaining the choice of Kajjansi, the Stanbic Bank boss said a facility at the level of Kajjansi Health Centre IV serves a whole county or parliamentary constituency.
“This makes it a mini hospital. It should offer the kind of services found at a Level III health centre, including separate wards for men, women, and children as well as have the capacity to admit patients when necessary.”
Dr. Michael Mubiru, the In-charge of Kajjansi Health centre IV said that while there have been significant improvements in maternal healthcare, the number of maternal deaths remains disturbing.
Dr. Mubiru expressed gratitude to the bank for the sustained support and for raising awareness about the health situation at the facility.
“We are very much grateful and thank the district for allowing the Stanbic team to work with us to bring a change in the health of this region,” Dr. Mubiru 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, according to health experts.
Kajjansi Health Centre IV handles about 200,000 patients annually, 16,000 per month and more than 550 on a daily basis. It currently has only one in-patient ward which has seven beds and serves as a maternity ward. The centre also has four post-surgical beds, which are also used by maternity patients.
The total staff number is 42 including one doctor, who carries out all the surgical procedures, two clinical officers, five midwives and nine registered nurses. Sanitation facilities are shared between the staff, patients and attendants. As a priority, Stanbic is engaging a contractor to build new toilets.
The bank will also pay for the building of a new more efficient incinerator. It will be located at a distance away from the in-patient ward, where currently the old one stands, posing a hazardous risk to the patients, staff and community as a whole,” Ms. Diana Ondoga, the Assistant Manager Corporate Social Investment at Stanbic Bank told reporters.
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.
