200 expectant mothers receive mama kit at Naguru hospital
Airtel Africa Executive Director, Christophe Soulet hands over a mama kit to a mother who had just given birth at the China-Uganda Friendship hospital in Naguru. Courtesy photo.
What you need to know:
On a normal day at the recently opened China-Uganda Friendship hospital in Naguru, Kampala, you will find hundreds of patients lining up in the hospital corridors, waiting to see a doctor
On a normal day at the recently opened China-Uganda Friendship hospital in Naguru, Kampala, you will find hundreds of patients lining up in the hospital corridors, waiting to see a doctor.
The hospital, which offers free medical services, also has an overwhelming turnup of pregnant women seeking antenatal services.
The maternity ward, which is supposed to accommodate 150 women, registers over 300 mothers per day. Most of these flock the hospital to receive free medical attention.
As part of Airtel Uganda’s corporate social responsibility campaign, the company donated 200 mama kit to the hospital in an effort to curb maternal and infant mortality.
While receiving the 200 mama kit from Airtel Uganda on May 6, the Director of the China-Uganda Friendship Hospital, Dr Edward Naddumba said the donation has given hope to 200 mothers and stopped them from becoming part of the sad statistics.
Tom Gutjahr, the managing director Airtel Uganda, alongside Christophe Soulet, the Airtel Africa Executive Director, handed over the mama kits along with basins and baby sheets to pregnant women at the hospital.
This initiative is a follow-up to another health camp in which Airtel partnered with World Health Organisation, Marie Stopes clinics, Hinds Feet Uganda and local health centres to deliver 500 mama kits to pregnant women during a health camp in Bugiri District.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, the Airtel Uganda managing director, said, “We are honoured to play our part in the advocacy for safe delivery and family health care.
Uganda is still experiencing more than 310 deaths per 100,000 live births and Airtel is committed to ensuring mothers are interested in accessing better antenatal care to prevent complications during pregnancy and childbirth through donating items that will ensure safe delivery.”
From 1990 to 2013, the global maternal mortality ratio declined by 45 per cent – from 380 to 210 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to UN inter-agency estimates. This translates into an average annual rate of reduction of 2.6 per cent. While impressive, this is less than half the 5.5 per cent rate needed to achieve the three-quarters reduction in maternal mortality targeted for 2015 in Millennium Development Goal 5.
