Kampala 3 July 2018: The World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) donated an assortment of medical equipment worth $257,000 to the Ministry of Health (MoH) to improve Maternal and Child Health (MCH) services in Iganga and Kamuli districts in Uganda.

The equipment donated includes 4 neonatal incubators, 14 pulse oxymeters, 34 examination beds, 76 medical trolleys, 80 normal delivery sets, and 82 pediatric hospital mattresses.

In addition, the government received 128 patient screens, 40 mercury blood pressure machines, 82 adult hospital beds, 20 pediatric hospital beds and 94 adult humbugs. The equipment will be distributed among Health Centre II, III and IV facilities as well as hospitals in the two districts.

In two months’ time, an additional set of equipment valued at $404,000 will also be delivered.

“We would like to thank the Korean government and WHO for supporting the country to address the challenges in maternal and child health”, said Dr Diana Atwine, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health. “The equipment will play a crucial role in curbing complications during childbirth”, she noted.

Dr Diana further pointed out that the Government of Uganda is committed to improving quality of care towards achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and reducing preventable maternal and newborn mortality and stillbirths.

She, however, called on health workers to ensure proper use of the equipment to save the lives of mothers and children saying, “I implore the health workers in the two districts to use this equipment. Do not let the machines gather dust, they are meant to save lives and please use them for that.”

Dr Bayo Fatunmbi, the Officer in Charge at the WHO Country Office said that the MCH-KOICA project in collaboration with WHO is aimed at health systems strengthening for MCH quality of care services.

“This project aligns with 3 WHO targets of reaching 3 billion people with service coverage within the Universal health coverage,  reducing the impact of emergencies and improving primary health care”, he said.

He further pointed out that the financial support from KOICA has enabled a WHO-MoH partnership to build the capacity of 640 health workers in various maternal and child health critical skills and knowledge required to provide evidence-based interventions so as to reduce preventable maternal and newborn deaths.

The Director of the MCH outreach Project at KOICA, Mr. Kim Sangchul appreciated WHO’s technical support and partnership in implementing the project. He committed KOICA’s continued support to the government to improve health service delivery.