Soroti Health Centre III has received maternity and newborn care equipment from Save the Mothers Care Foundation and Uganda Christian University (UCU) to help it cope with a surge in deliveries from about 25 to more than 70 mothers a month.
The facility has been struggling to meet the growing demand for maternity services amid shortages of essential equipment, according to its in-charge, Dr Yusuf Emiti. The donated equipment includes an electric autoclave, delivery bed, fetal Doppler, newborn resuscitation equipment, baby warmer and a 10-litre dual oxygen concentrator.
Emiti said the equipment would improve the quality and efficiency of maternity services, particularly the sterilisation of medical instruments and care for mothers and newborns. Previously, health workers relied on boiling instruments to sterilise them, a method he said could fail to achieve the required temperatures.
“We were backward; we were sterilising by boiling, and you know boiling may not reach the required temperatures. Now we have received equipment; it will help us deliver a service to the overwhelming number of mothers we receive,” Emiti said.
He said the electric autoclave would make sterilisation more efficient, with the process taking about five minutes. Dr Mushin Nsubuga, an obstetrician and gynaecologist and executive director of Save the Mothers Care at UCU in Mukono, said the equipment would also strengthen health workers’ ability to respond to complications among newborns immediately after delivery.
Nsubuga said newborns were vulnerable to hypothermia, a condition in which the body loses heat and falls below its normal temperature, which can lead to serious complications if not managed promptly. “Babies suffer from coldness, and that’s why you see mothers covering them, and that’s one of the issues that causes babies to die at birth,” Nsubuga said.
He said the baby warmer would help maintain newborns’ body temperatures, while the resuscitation equipment and oxygen concentrator would support babies experiencing breathing difficulties. The equipment is expected to improve the facility’s capacity to provide immediate care to newborns with complications, including birth asphyxia, which occurs when a baby does not receive enough oxygen before, during, or shortly after birth.
Soroti City West Mayor John Enomu welcomed the support, urging health workers to remain committed to providing quality services. “You cannot attract people to a health unit if you are not giving the best, so be kind and continue supporting them,” Enomu said.
He also emphasised the need to protect mothers’ privacy during childbirth, suggesting that curtains be provided to create more private delivery spaces while allowing husbands to support their partners. Diane Reader Jones, a board member of Save the Mothers Canada, said she visited the health centre in February and found that it needed assistance.
“We want to continue to help you, and on behalf of Save the Mothers, we shall,” Jones said. She urged health workers to maintain the donated equipment properly to ensure it serves the facility for a long time-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
