Health Centre

Major Health Challenges
 
Communicable diseases such as malaria are the leading cause of death and illness in Uganda, and women and children are worst affected. AIDS causes most adult deaths and is the main reason for falling life expectancy. Today, an estimated 1 million adults (57% of them women) and 187,000 children are HIV positive. HIV also fuels the TB epidemic – 50% of HIV-positive people have TB, and 30% of them will eventually die as a result.

Rural areas have least access to basic health care, safe water and sanitation. This, alongside poor hygiene, creates high rates of diarrhoeal disease and death in children.

Distance and cost also play their part in Uganda’s health crisis – 13% of people do not seek medical attention because they can’t afford it, or can’t reach clinics. Trained health workers are scarce in rural areas – some districts have as little as 26% of the professional medical staff they need.

Districts in the north and east of Uganda are consistently worse off than those in other regions, largely as result of conflict and insecurity.

Bushikori has a health centre employing 10 full time staff.  We have a clinical officer, trained lab technician and lab assistant, two trained midwives working in the maternity ward and five nurses and nursing assistants.

In addition to providing outpatient treatment, the health centre has the capacity to provide in-patient care in four wards: general, maternity, pediatrics & a male ward.  The most common ailments presented for treatment are malaria, pneumonia, respiratory infections, typhoid, urinary tract infections, anemia, skin diseases, intestinal worms, gastrointestinal disorders, eye diseases & asthma.   

Local mothers are provided with free vaccinations and health checks at the health centre every Tuesday.  On average 50 babies are vaccinated each week for polio, diphtheria, hepatitis B, measles, human influenza virus and tuberculosis.  The health centre offers prenatal and antenatal services, which include vaccinations against tetanus for pregnant mothers as well as ARV's (anti-retrovirals) for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS.

Community outreach programs enable the staff to run educational health seminars in local villages and raise awareness about topics related to health, hygiene, and sanitation.

Work is going into the establishment of blood bank.

The clinic is currently undergoing major renovations. See special projects Clinic Renovations.