Uganda: improving access to healthcare
Food insecurity is high in the Karamoja region in eastern Uganda. Since 2018, FH Switzerland has been supporting projects in this region with farming families, to enable them to increase their agricultural and livestock production and diversify their sources of income through the development of economic activities.
The project in brief
Topic
Health
Period
2022 - 2024
Status
In progress
Funding
Commune of Horn (Canton de Thurgovie)
Budget
CHF 64'500.-
Beneficiaries
43'000 people
Description
In terms of health, it is estimated that 10% of the region's population suffers from severe malnutrition. The rate of anaemia is also very high. Malaria and diarrhoeal diseases are also very common. This weakens the immune system, making the population more vulnerable to other infections.
The main health facility in the region is the Amudat hospital.
The Karita health centre is the referral centre for the 105 villages in the region, home to over 15,000 people. On average, the people who come for consultations have to travel more than 20 kilometres from their homes to reach the health centre.
Insufficiently equipped and understaffed, the centre is unable to meet the needs of the population.
This project aims to improve patient care by upgrading the health centre's equipment and training health staff.
Objectives
1. Improve patient care by improving the health centre's equipment.
2. Improve the training of healthcare staff.
Activities
Improving equipment at the Karita health centre:
- Building and equipping a laboratory
- Construction of new latrines
- Construction of a fence around the health centre with the participation of the surrounding communities.
- Training teams of health volunteers to better detect and monitor health problems among the population.
Activities already carried out:
- 3 new latrines have been built.
- 95 members of Village Health teams have been trained in data collection and disease surveillance.
- Health staff have been trained to improve the quality of care.
