George Ntambi, the NGO's head who perpetually begs individuals and corporations to fund travel and treatment for the children, says that while they helped 75 children access surgery overseas last year, they have so far registered ten new cases in the New Year and they may not be able to support all the patients referred to them.
An NGO that offers
children free surgeries for heart complications in India has appealed to the government
to come up with initiatives that reduce financial hardship Ugandans experience seeking
care that is unavailable in the country.
Speaking to URN
on Monday, George Ntambi, the Executive
Director of an NGO Action for Disadvantaged People (ACDIPE) who perpetually
begs from individuals and corporate organizations to fund travel and treatment of
needy children said that the number of patients approaching them for help is high
but also on an increasing trend.
While they
helped seventy-five children access surgery last year, he says they have so far
registered ten new cases in the New Year, fearing that they may not be able to
handle all the patients referred to them for support.
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of the patients.”//
On a daily
basis, the organization is now recording up to five cases either
referred to them from the Uganda Heart Institute or by individuals they have
previously helped access care.
Ntambi explains
that they only support individuals who have been checked and endorsed by the
Uganda Heart Institute as those that they cannot handle domestically.
The Institute’s Executive Director John Omagino also acknowledges having
long waiting lists of children in need of surgery.
In an earlier interview, Omagino revealed to journalists that of the 16,000 babies born with heart complications in Uganda a year, half require surgery
as the only solution. He further said
that while they have developed capacity to handle most of these surgeries, they
still have to refer some abroad depending on the nature of surgery needed.
Now, since
ACDIPE started in 2019, they have helped more than five hundred children access
surgery but Ntambi says he has had to strike a deal with health facilities in
India to offer them care on credit. To operate each
kid, they facilities charge five thousand dollars.
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these cases.” //
Ntambi’s organization is not the only that offers such help, as Rotary and the
Indian Association in Uganda have also assisted children get free surgeries
abroad. But all the same this appears to be a drop in the ocean with the magnitude of the problem.
Owing to
this challenge, according to Omagino, their appeal is always to have children
enroll early into care and surgeries abroad may not be necessary. He says for many
of these cases, treatment without surgery is possible once diagnosed early.
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million shillings.”//
For now, Ntambi
continues to beg for support saying each amount comes in handy considering that
many of the children are too needy to afford basics like a passport.