Polish Aid co-finances the Wanda Matugga Health Centre in Uganda
12.08.2020
Despite COVID-19-related restrictions that remain in force in Uganda, the Wanda Matugga Health Centre, named after Dr Wanda Błeńska, continues to implement module II of a project carried out by the InnovAid Foundation.
The project module aims to supply Wanda Błeńska’s Wanda Matugga Health Centre with necessary equipment to enable it to treat patients. The hospital operates at its full capacity. In recent months, nurses working at the Wanda Matugga Health Centre have often stayed overnight to look after their patients. The hospital staff predominantly treats malaria cases, as recently more and more people go down with the disease. There are also typhus and brucellosis patients who receive necessary help thanks to specialist equipment the hospital has been provided with. New babies are delivered at the centre all the time and, with their parents by their side, they can slowly learn about the surrounding world in a safe environment. As some restrictions are being lifted, the hospital staff is preparing to treat many more patients.
At present, as part of module II of the project, the hospital kitchen is being refurbished where patients’ families will be able to prepare meals for their relatives, thus helping them make a faster recovery. The centre has been recently equipped with a dentist’s chair and an x-ray machine to improve its dental care. The equipment has already been installed and checked to make sure it works properly.
The hospital will soon be supplied with an off-road ambulance to help seriously ill patients to reach the Wanda Matugga Health Centre. Necessary equipment for its operating wing has also been ordered to enable the newly-employed female doctor to deliver babies also by a Caesarean section.
The project is a continuation of activities initiated by Polish Franciscan Friars, local partners of the InnovAid Foundation. The project aims to improve the quality of and access to medical care for Uganda’s population. As part of the project, Wanda Błeńska’s Wanda Matugga Health Centre is provided with medical equipment to treat its patients, offering them basic medical care, as well as dental, surgery, obstetrics, and emergency medical services.
The centre was officially opened on 1 December 2019. The first baby delivered in the hospital was a girl who was named Wanda to commemorate the centre’s patron. Polish female volunteers were present at her birth and helped to deliver the little Wanda.