Provisions for tackling maternal, newborn and child health issues have worsened in Kiryandongo district as a result of the poor conditions of the government hospital, located on Gulu highway 290 kilometers out of Uganda’s capital Kampala.
Built in the 1980s the hospital is still lacking standard equipment which has forced pregnant mothers to deliver instead in Masindi hospital which is 34 kilometers from Kiryandongo hospital. Others resort to traditional birth attendants. This happens as a result of impunity by the medical staff, absence of quality equipment and lack of other quality facilities like bed cradles for people with burns, bags for removing secretions and incubators.
With the above conditions many pregnant women have resorted to traditional birth attendants, rather than accessing maternal newborn and child health services in the district. Statistics show that 78% of pregnant women give birth at home, 28% undergo emergency obstetric care and 15% develop life threatening problems during pregnancy and 17% deliver in full comprehensive emergency obstetrics care. However research has shown that delays in seeking care and reaching facilities are some of the factors that have caused maternal newborn and child health to worsen in the district.
Although there are several factors at the root of maternal, newborn and child health issues in Kiryandongo district the government carries the greatest blame for failure to equip the hospital to meet the needs of the patients.
Maternal mortality is highest in this hospital due to a lack of medical personnel, but government has not been able to resolve this to help patients who at times need to go to the hospitals at night when the doctor’s are not there.
Maternal, newborn and child health is the greatest challenge for most hospital’s in Uganda. This has continued to be the case as a result of neglect by the Ugandan government.
The Ugandan government has yet till date failed to accept the article of the constitution which clearly stipulates it that the citizens have a right to adequate and sufficient health facilities. The government has failed to address the worsening situation for maternal, newborn and child health in Kiryandongo district and this has claimed many lives of people and lead to misery in various families.
These worsening conditions of maternal, newborn and child health in Kiryandongo need urgent attention by the Ugandan government in order to provide sufficient care to the citizens.
