By KT Reporter
Mothers and children in Acholi will soon start benefiting from first-class medical services from a 7 billion-shilling hospital under construction in Agago district.
The hospital, which is being funded by the Sonic Healthcare Foundation and Barbara May Foundation in Australia through Te Kworo Foundation Limited, a Non-Governmental organisation in Agago district, is located at Buluji Village, Paicam parish, Lamiyo Sub-County in Agago district.
Stanley Odong, the secretary of works and technical services of Agago district, said the construction of the hospital, which started in November 2024 by Doxa Company Limited, is already at 85%, with roofing already at a 5% completion rate.
Odong revealed that the construction work is expected to be completed and commissioned on May 5th, 2025. He commended the contractor for their zeal and quality work and the district leaders for their diligent supervision work.
Odong appealed to the management of the hospital to consider natives of Agago, Pader, and other districts in the Acholi Sub-region when seeking employees and interns once it starts operating.
He also urged locals near the hospital to start setting up commercial buildings so that they could grab the opportunity to sell goods and services required by clients of the hospital and its management.
Alice Achan, the Executive Director of Te-Kworo Foundation, said the hospital is expected to reduce maternal and neonatal deaths in the sub-region by 5% at the beginning and, with time, offer other services.
Achan revealed that when the founders came to Agago, they realized that the district and the country at large lacked well-equipped clinical laboratories, which has led to several cases of mis-diagnosis and wrong treatment. This, she said, is the reason the hospital will also have the best clinical laboratory in the country.
She said women from zero to 100 years will get free treatment for maternal and neonatal health complications at the hospital for three years after opening.
The clinical and medical aspects of the hospital are expected to be overseen by Dr. Andrew Browning, a founder of the Barbara May Foundation, a renowned fistula surgeon who has facilitated 14,000 fistula surgeries in many countries.
Achan clarified that while the hospital building and furnishing will cost 5 billion shillings, offering free medical services for the first years is estimated to cost 2 billion shillings.
Besides the construction, the Sonic Healthcare Foundation will facilitate access to up-to-date pathology equipment, as well as a fully functional blood bank.
The Kworo-Sonic Healthcare Foundation Hospital will prevent fistula by providing safe maternal healthcare services and treating fistula patients. Fistulas are holes that develop between the vagina, rectum, bowel, and bladder due to the trauma of obstructed childbirth.
Leonard Ojok, the chairperson of Agago district, commended the government of Australia for having the confidence to invest in the facility in the county.
“Our women are going to celebrate, even the men. Because if my mother is celebrating, how can I fail to celebrate? If my wife is celebrating, how do I fail to celebrate?” Ojok said.
An estimated 200,000 women are believed to be suffering from fistula in Uganda. Every year, at least 1,900 mothers get a fistula during childbirth due to poor maternal health care, according to the United Nations Population Fund.
Uganda is among the countries with high neonatal and maternal deaths. Records show that at least 6,000 women die from pregnancy and childbirth-related causes annually. Additionally, 94 babies are stillborn, while 81 die immediately after birth every day, yet most of these deaths are believed to be highly preventable.
Medical literature also shows that only 57% of expectant mothers in Uganda are delivered by trained birth attendants. Yet, those who are delivered at health facilities are attended to by few staff with poor medical equipment or infrastructure.
In Northern Uganda, the rate of maternal mortality is 600 deaths per 100,000 live births, which is twice higher than the national figure of 300 per 100,000 births. In Australia, the country sponsoring this hospital, the maternal death rate is 7 per 100,000.
The Sonic Healthcare Foundation has, since 1996, been supporting hospitals across Africa with laboratories, pathology, and radiology equipment and services.
Some of the beneficiaries currently getting laboratory support from the foundation are Ethiopia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Kworo-Sonic Health Foundation will be the fifth maternity hospital in the Barbara May group. Others are Vision Maternity Care and Barbara May Maternity Hospital, Barbara May Hospital in Ethiopia, Kivulini Hospital in Tanzania, and Reconciliation Hospital in South Sudan-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
