Jinja: Nalufenya Children’s Hospital is one of the struggling health facilities in the country, despite being a regional referral hospital in the Busoga subregion.
Serving a population of approximately 200,000 children in a catchment area comprising one city and 11 districts in Busoga, Nalufenya Children’s Ward, which is under Jinja Regional Referral Hospital, serves as a solution for six general hospitals within the region.
At least 200 patients are reportedly admitted to the hospital every month, with malaria, malnutrition, and bacterial infections being the most prevalent and deadly diseases. Interestingly, these children with different infections are sharing beds, according to Dr. Alfred Yayi, the hospital director.
“We have an 89-bed capacity here, but we receive over two hundred children every month. These patients are sharing space and beds, which is not ideal for infection control,” Dr. Yayi explained.
Congestion is a major issue at this critical health facility, with patients and their caretakers often resorting to using corridors and shaded areas for shelter. This situation increases the risk of disease spread, as some patients even receive treatment on bare floors.
In response to the challenging health situation, MMI Integrated Steel Company, a renowned sheet manufacturing facility in Masese, Jinja City, donated 10 manual beds to help reduce congestion in the wards.
This donation was part of a pledge made by MMI earlier in August 2024, during the first edition of the Charlie Mugga Cancer Run, organized by the Charlie Mugga Teenage Cancer Initiative (CMTCI) in partnership with the Uganda-UK Health Alliance and Uganda Cancer Institute. The 5km marathon, which was participated in by hundreds of people, aimed at raising funds to support Nalufenya Children’s Hospital.
Handing over the beds to the hospital administration on Friday, November 29, 2024, Mr. Hassa Latif, the marketing manager at MMI, said, “We promised to donate beds to help the struggling children who are sharing beds, and we are glad that the beds are finally here. At least now the children will be more comfortable.”
Mr. Latif further revealed that the steel company intends to actively collaborate with Jinja Referral Hospital and CMTCI to improve the healthcare environment for both children and their caretakers at the hospital.
“We saw the need to provide beds for the children. Given the overwhelming number of patients we saw in the wards, we decided to help by providing our steel products,” he said, emphasizing that each bed should be used by one patient only.
The facility currently employs a small team of intern doctors, a few fully trained pediatricians, approximately 12 full-time nurses, and 8 clinical officers. It has separate wards for malnutrition and neonatal care, as well as an emergency ward for the sickest patients.
Dr. Yayi added that the hospital needs more equipment, medicine, and improved security, including fencing around the premises to prevent theft of both health workers’ and patients’ property at night.
“We have enough land, about eight acres donated by the Madhvani Group, but the space is limited. We need staff quarters to comfortably accommodate our staff, along with catering services,” he said.
Dr. Yayi also advocated for the establishment of a laboratory and imaging services at Nalufenya, given the long distance to the main Jinja Hospital campus to access these services. He called on the government to declare Nalufenya a fully independent children’s hospital and equip it with the necessary resources.
Dr. Emmanuel Tenywa, the chief of the Children’s Ward, stated that the donation of the beds was a much-needed solution to the congestion in the admission rooms. He also mentioned that sickle cell disease is among the leading causes of death at Nalufenya.
“We run a sickle cell clinic on Mondays, but we receive an average of 80 children suffering from this disease,” Dr. Tenywa said.
The Ministry of Health has introduced an initiative called Newborn Screening, where samples are taken from every newborn baby at the hospital and sent to the Central Public Laboratory in Kampala. The results are returned within two weeks. This program helps parents know their children’s sickle cell status early.
Dr. Tenywa noted that at least three children with sickle cell disease die at Nalufenya each week due to blood shortages. He has advocated for the establishment of a regional blood bank in Busoga to address this issue.
