The Japanese embassy in Uganda has is to build wards at two rural health centers in south western Uganda to improve health service delivery, especially for mothers.
The Japanese ambassador Kazuo Minagawa presided over the commissioning of the two projects, constructed under aid by the Japanese government at missionary hospitals Kagamba Health Centre II in Ntungamo district and Bwindi Hospital in Kanungu district.
The Japanese embassy aided $49,731 for a general ward to be constructed at Kagamba health centre and over $12,000 for a maternity ward project at Bwindi hospital.
Speaking during the commissioning of the Kagamba general ward, Mr. Minagawa pledged more support to the Uganda’s health sector, education and sanitation from the government of Japan saying Japan is willing to partner with Uganda in achieving sustainable development for her people.
Mr. Minagawa said: “Uganda and Japan are good friends, though we are far in distance. We have been engaged in aiding schools, constructing class rooms, water facilities especially in the north and Karamoja region. We shall, where applicable, engage in more projects promoting health, sanitation and water development in this region.”
He added that the healthcare support is aimed at promoting better living in local communities and facilitating more people to be close to services.
Ntungamo district leaders congratulated the move saying the aid would bring strong relief to the people in the district and would aid the resource strain as it will allow the district gives priority to other projects.
Steven Tashobya, the Kajara County Member of Parliament while speaking at the function, said the aid given by donors to NGOs has been a strong help to government as the NGO projects have been more sustainable.
St. Lucia Kagamba is a Faith Based organization (FBO) health unit run by the Catholic Church under the Arch Diocese of Mbarara. It is run by nuns under the Holy Sisters of Fatima Organization. It serves 75,000 people per year and is government public health care (PHC) granted.
Ms. Turyatemba Lovianah, who lives locally, said sick residents have to travel miles from the health centre for additional health services especially when they eed to be admitted because there is no inpatients division.
The district chairperson Denis Singahache said with more residents trusting missionary and private health facilities than government ones the aid is timely and well placed.
“The NGOs are becoming more transparent than even government; they are using resources from donors more effectively and any aid advanced here works even better than expected,” Mr. Singahache said.
Mr. Minagawa said the Japanese embassy is keen to promote maternal health and childcare, facilitate family planning and birth control needs and invest in a growing population.
He said the choice of rural non government health centers means aid is going to the people who need it best.
“More people in rural areas need services but they move long distances to get them, and when they are sick, they deserve to get them near. We intend to promote more safe motherhood in this growing population so that we can get a healthier people. We shall continue aiding health services in Uganda,” Mr. Minagawa said at Bwindi.
Kagamba health centre is a Catholic founded health unit under the management of the nuns from the Holy Sisters Fatima. Bwindi community hospital located at Buhooma town board is a Church of England province of Uganda founded under the diocese of Kinkizi manned by missionaries from the United States.
The two health units serves over 300,000 people between themselves in the districts of Ntungamo, Bushenyi, Sheema, Rukungiri, Kanungu, Kabale and Kisoro, providing services at a lower government subsidized price and grant aided for primary healthcare services.