Kalangala woman delivers on the shores of Lake Victoria
Good Samaritans help Ms Akello (wearing a green hat), who delivered a baby at the lake shore, walk to an ambulance before being taken to Kalangala Health Centre IV. PHOTO | DAVID SEKAYINGA
What you need to know:
- With no boat available, the family had to wait until the morning of Monday to hire one to transport the pregnant woman to Kalangala Health Centre IV on Buggala Island, writes David Sekayinga
Akello set off from Kitobo Landing Site in Bufumira Sub-county on Monday with a plan to deliver her baby from Kalangala Health Centre IV on Buggala Islands in Lake Victoria, a 50 minute journey from her home. But a few minutes after disembarking the boat at Mweena Landing Site in Kalangala Town Council, labour pangs struck her hard, and she could barely move.
Moments later, she delivered at the lake shores with the help of an elderly woman, with traditional experience in delivering mothers. According to her husband, Joseph Kasibante, Akello began experiencing labour pains late in the night on May 11 at Kitobo Landing Site. With no boat available, Kasibante had to wait until the morning of May 12 to hire one and bought 10 litres of petrol to transport his wife to Kalangala Health Centre IV on Buggala Island.
“The waves on the lake were rough, but we managed to reach safely at Mwena Landing Site. Unfortunately, my wife couldn’t get on a quick boda boda to rush her to Kalangala Health Centre IV, and the ambulance wasn’t in sight,” Kasibante explained. “One of the women in the nearby wooden house told us she couldn’t make it further, so we took her into an abandoned house near the shores where she gave birth,” he added Ms Rashidah Nakabuubi, a resident of Mweena Landing Site, who rushed to help Akello deliver her baby, said she is often called upon to help women in such emergencies.
“This year alone, I have helped about 10 women give birth either on boats, at the landing site, or while trying to board a boda boda,” Ms Nakabuubi said. She appealed to the government to provide affordable transport options to health facilities. “Let the government deploy emergency boats at every landing site, that can transport women and other patients to health facilities rather than waiting for a water ambulance that involves too much bureaucracy,” she said. Nakabuubi also requested for gloves and other supplies to enable her help women in such emergencies.
Ms Akello and her newborn were later picked up by an ambulance and taken to Kalangala Health Centre IV for proper medical care. The Kalangala District chairperson, Mr Rajab Semakula, acknowledged the challenges women face in accessing health services and urged government to reform some policies. “Until government understands the uniqueness of island districts and adjusts its policy on the establishment of health centres, we shall continue seeing such incidents,” Mr Semakula said.
He added that the current policy mandates one health centre II per parish, a health centre III per sub-county, and a health centre IV per constituency. But in island districts like Kalangala, one parish may cover more than six islands, making services inaccessible for many islanders “For instance, Kitobo Landing Site has about 1,000 residents, but no health facility. Where do women go for antenatal care? Many resort to risky clinics or herbal medicine,” Mr Semakula said. He added that the modern water ambulance, government donated to the district, which is currently stationed at Mweena Landing Site, is hamstrung by a shortage of fuel.
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Kalangala District, with 84 islands, 64 inhabited islands, has only seven health centre IIs, seven health centre IIIs, and two health centre IVs, scattered across 9 islands. The district has 70,589 people.
