Dr Judith Namuyonga a pediatric cardiologist says of the 16,000 children, up to 2000 children usually present with complex heart conditions which require an urgent intervention or quick referral. Recognizing this big need and the fact that congenital heart disease bears a ninety-five to ninety-eight per cent survival rate once handled early, Namuyonga says experts came up with an initiative they named Brave Hearts to create partnerships which can help them quickly diagnose the children even at the level of regional referral hospitals.
The observations were made during the ongoing Third National Nutrition Forum, a high level gathering that has brought together various stakeholders from government ministries, departments involved in the food and nutrition value chain, development partners, and other key actors. The forum convened by the office of the prime minister with support from UNICEF serves as a platform for collaborative discussions and strategic planning aimed at addressing the multifaceted challenges posed by malnutrition in Uganda.
According to Dr Peter Lwabi, the Deputy Director at the UHI, the consignment consists of smart beds, ventilators, specialized lab machines and shringe pumps that are able to accurately dispense medicines in very sick patients.
Speaking at a signing event held on Tuesday, Dr John Omagino, the Executive Director Uganda Heart Institute said that about sixteen thousand babies are born with congenital heart diseases each year. While they have capacity of handling 75% of these cases, they are constantly grappling with high numbers of children awaiting surgery due to lack of resources to handle them.
The machine that is used to record the electrical activity of the heart, as one of the two basic tests, only adds to five existing equipment at the hospital that is also the country’s national referral centre for heart disease.
Speaking at the celebrations of the World Heart Day in Jinja district on Friday, Kadaga says that, some schools have limited space where pupils can hardly carry out physical exercises which has left them lazy and prone to heart diseases.
The medical association says that 15 of the experts among them are on standby to voluntarily provide treatment to all victims of torture arising out of the infamous arrests. Dr Ekwaro Obuku, the President of Uganda Medical Association says the assembled experts were chosen based on descriptions on the condition of the victims.
Dr Aliku, however, explains that the family needs to look for funds for an air ticket, VISA, passport and tests for the operation, which comes to about 10 million shillings.
