“Up to forty (40) years
no one among the fishing community on Saguti, Masolya and Jaguzi Islands in
Mayuge district had ever been immunised. There was generally a very low uptake
of immunization services and low attendance/utilization of other health
services like antenatal and family planning. With only three (3) Health Centres
built and ill equipped to serve seven (7) islands, limited use and access to health
services was the lifestyle of most fishing communities. Apparently no ambulance
could work in these places, while health workers too shunned staying on the
island. And as a result, mothers relied heavily on the expertise of the
traditional birth attendants (TBAs) while the rest lived by self medication and
God’s mercy” thus revealed Michael
Gwanjaye, the Project Coordinator of Uganda
Development and Health Associates–(UDHA).
UDHA is an IDF grantee promoting
maternal and child health rights among the fishing communities in Mayuge
district.
In collaboration with several stakeholders; District health
office, facility medical personnel, Village Health Teams (VHTs), mothers,
political and civil leaders, UDHA has been able to reach over 7796 people in
the sub counties/islands of Bukaboli, Jaguza and Malongo with information on
maternal and child health rights. This has been through routine radio talk
shows, radio jingles community sensitization out reaches, door to door
sensitization campaigns, quarterly feedback and sensitization meetings with key
stakeholders, community dialogue meetings with duty bearers, publication and dissemination of Information
Education and Communication (I.E.C) materials in popular versions.
Aimed at increasing the level of involvement
of fishing communities in planning, monitoring, and utilization of maternal and
child healthcare services, UDHA’s project seems to be making progressive
strides towards this goal. Available reports from these interventions and interaction
with key stakeholders confirm this; For instance through continued lobbying and
advocacy for the improvement of health services at Bwondha HC II, the longtime
dilapidated HC was renovated by the district and supplied with a solar panel
(that will be installed soon). This has not only improved its look but also
attracted more mothers to utilize its services. Umuteesi
Safina, the HC In-Charge notes that “in
the past we would receive 10-15 mothers monthly while the rest used TBAS. It
was even hard to convince them to come to the HC because it was in a poor
state, but after its renovation realized through UDHA’s advocacy, coupled with the continued sensitization, we
now receive 28 – 30 mothers monthly, we hope to even get more in the near
future”.
An increase
in the number of people accessing immunization has also been witnessed; whereas
the HC conducts immunization outreach services, mothers who deliver from home
or on the way have come up to later bring their babies for immunization. Umuteesi further reveals that “since UDHA’s sensitization and education
campaigns, the HC now immunizes between 150-200 babies monthly. These include
those who deliver at the HC and from home - they after delivery bring the new
born babies to the HC for immunization because they have been made to
understand its importance”.
Related to this is the improvement in utilization of family
planning services; Available records at Bwondha
HC II show an increase in
the number of people accessing family planning from 10-20 people to 50- 150
monthly. On the other hand, male support towards women and child health rights
has increased; unlike in the past when men did not find it necessary to
participate in health related activities for their wives and children, say
escorting them for antenatal, today, more
men have come up to support their wives. At Bwondha HC for instance, over 30
couples are registered monthly for antenatal services as opposed to the past
when only 7-10 couples would be received.
Other
impressive results from UDHA’s advocacy work are the recruitment and retention
of Health workers at the HCs on the islands by the district, appointment of new
Health Unit management committees to replace the expired and non functional
committees at most of the HCs in the district and orienting of the same on
their roles and responsibilities.
Lastly is securing
commitment from the District Health Officer to upgrade Bwondha HC II to a HC
III facility. “A lot of change is being witnessed from UDHA’s work; we have been
involved in most of the activities and are able to track what is changing. We
are impressed by their work, and collaboration with us as a district and the
other relevant stakeholders. Certainly the lives of mothers and children in
Mayuge district are improving greatly”, noted the District Health educator,
Mayuge district during an interview with him about the UDHA-IDF funded project.
