Kween’s maternal health services in poor condition

The maternity ward at Kaptum Health Centre III in Kaptum Sub-county, Kween District is a dilapidated small, mud-and-wattle structure, with a rusted roof.
The ward is poorly ventilated and dimly lit, even at day time because of the small windows. The windows are covered with tattered curtains.
The ward where about 30 women seek services daily, is dusty, has no electricity, running water and only one delivery bed.

A health worker, who preferred anonymity, says sometimes expectant women deliver on the verandah.
The source says others fear to come to the facility for antenatal care and to deliver due to lack of privacy.
“The government is doing little to improve access to better healthcare, especially in the hard-to-reach districts. The situation is too bad and saddening,” the source says.

The district has 11 health centres but many do not have maternity wards, forcing many pregnant women to deliver with the help of traditional birth attendants (TBAs).
Others trek to Kapchorwa General Hospital and Mbale Regional Referral Hospital.
“In our rural areas, TBAs are often seen as the only recourse for pregnant women and many are dying due to bleeding,”   Mr Joseph Chelimo, a resident of Kween Town Council, says.
Mr David Chemushak, the councillor for Puikat Sub-county, says the government has not done enough to improve access to healthcare in the district.

“We are losing mothers and newborn babies due to lack of maternity wards in the respective health centres. The terrain is also bad, so transporting a patient out of the district is a big challenge,” Mr Chemushak says.
“The  expectant mothers deliver in the small transparent wards in the presence of male patients and this has forced many to shun the facilities,” he adds.
Ms Mary Yeko, a resident of Benet Sub-county, faults the district leadership for failing to quickly address the matter.
“It is unacceptable in our culture for a woman to deliver in the sight of men, but this is happening and it is an abomination,” Ms Yeko says.

She adds that when pregnant women resort to TBAs, they are putting their lives at risk because the latter don’t have adequate tools and knowledge to handle complicated births.
“We request the government to construct maternity wards in each health centre in the district to save lives,” Ms Yeko says.
Some of the village health team members attribute mother-to-child HIV transmissions to TBAs.
Mother-to-child HIV transmission accounts for more than 95 percent of HIV infections in children under five years. Worse still, these children have a 50 percent possibility of dying before they are two years old.

The district Woman MP, Ms Rose Emma Cherukut, says 80 percent of the projects, including the construction of maternity wards in the district have been abandoned by the contractors.
“There is no value for money. It is not good to misuse government funds which could save people’s lives,” Ms Cherukut says.
According to a 2017-2021 report on district performance, the construction of Kaptum Health Centre III was allocated Shs400m but the contractor reportedly abandoned the site despite being paid.

At Kaproro Health Centre IV, the State Minister for Economic Monitoring in the Office of the President, Mr Peter Ogwang, directed police to arrest the contractor, who is accused of doing  shoddy work.
At Benet Health Centre III, the contractor reportedly abandoned the work after being paid Shs256 million. The contract sum to construct the facility is Shs640 million.
At Terenpoy Health Centre III, the contractor also reportedly abandoned the project after the district reported shoddy work.
Construction of the health facilities in the district is funded by the World Bank in partnership with the government.

Mr Ogwang, who visited the health facilities in the district recently, says it is unfortunate that mothers are giving birth in the mud-and-wattle maternity structures due to rampant corruption.
“Its unfortunate that several government projects are lying idle and incomplete despite the fact that  funds  were released,” he says.
Some of the other projects include roadworks, irrigation schemes and dams, water and sewerage facilities, and agricultural projects.
The minister attributed the shoddy work on government-funded projects to poor supervision and corruption among district officials.

The district vice chairperson, Mr Alfred Kotok, says the Ministry of Health should ensure that the contractors complete the works.
The district deputy chief administrative officer, Mr Jose Jimmy Lorwor, acknowledges the challenges facing various health centres.
“We are pursuing the contractors to complete the works and if they fail, we will get others,” Mr Lorwor says.
Dr Ayub Wangubo, the district health officer, says they are working to fix the problem as soon as possible.

“We have 24 health facilities and 11 heath centres that don’t have maternity wards,”Dr Wangubo says, adding that  maternal deaths in the district stands at 27 per 100,000 life births.
Mr Emmanuel Ainebyoona, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Health, said he needed time to consult from the ministry’s infrastructure department on the status of construction of health centres in the district.