Mulago Hospital, a detailed picture.
"New” Mulago was completed in 1962 and was intended to be a 1500 bed modern health care facility. Today, given the population explosion as well as the poor functioning of the surrounding district hospitals, Mulago often functions at >300% capacity. Underfunding of the health care system in Uganda is a major contributor to the system's lack of functionality.
On the obstetrical ward, laboring women cover the ground, their amniotic juices and bright red blood saturate the plastic tarps spread to protect the floor. Midwives are hard at work but they rarely smile; they seem defeated by the number of patients and the lack of access to necessary life saving resources. Desperation radiates from every laboring woman's face; their eyes send a silent plea to allow her and her unborn child to survive the journey.
At any given time, ten to fifteen women wait for their "emergency" cesarean section. A patient suffering from obstructed labor quietly waits as her fetus presses deeper and deeper into her pelvis. The end result is typically a demised fetus and a lifelong fistula for her. This isn't a result of lack of heart. There just aren't enough skilled health workers or resources to care for all the women in need.
On the gynecology floor, a single resident tries to manage forty acutely ill patients occupying the twenty beds. Life-threatening, ruptured ectopic pregnancies are a common complication on this ward. She is taken back to the operating room only when sutures can be found and an anesthesiologist is available is the patient taken to the operating room. Emergency surgery is typically performed by an unassisted resident left to fend for himself. The majority of the remainder of beds are filled with women slowly dying from cervical cancer. Neither chemotherapy nor surgery is available so they are simply forgotten and left to fade away.
Finally, there are an abundance of patients whose baseline of health and quality of life are negatively affected by benign gynecological processes. There is insufficient medical supplies, surgical equipment, and supervising physicians to care for these woman with acute issues, nonetheless those with benign disease, which leaves them to suffer for a lifetime.
S.T.A.R. International combines the delivery of surplus surgical equipment and training camps for resident physicians to provide supervision and improve efficiency and skill. These efforts towards capacity building will give Ugandan health care providers the resources necessary to optimally care for women and will ultimately lead to improved women's health in Uganda.
For further reading:
Maternal Mortality Uganda: http://allafrica.com/stories/201308090843.html
Mulago Maternity ward: http://olsonfarlow.com/editorial-images/maternity-ward-at-mulago-hospital-kampala-uganda
Making a Difference: Shanti Uganda: http://shantiuganda.org/about/our-story/
"New” Mulago was completed in 1962 and was intended to be a 1500 bed modern health care facility. Today, given the population explosion as well as the poor functioning of the surrounding district hospitals, Mulago often functions at >300% capacity. Underfunding of the health care system in Uganda is a major contributor to the system's lack of functionality.
On the obstetrical ward, laboring women cover the ground, their amniotic juices and bright red blood saturate the plastic tarps spread to protect the floor. Midwives are hard at work but they rarely smile; they seem defeated by the number of patients and the lack of access to necessary life saving resources. Desperation radiates from every laboring woman's face; their eyes send a silent plea to allow her and her unborn child to survive the journey.
At any given time, ten to fifteen women wait for their "emergency" cesarean section. A patient suffering from obstructed labor quietly waits as her fetus presses deeper and deeper into her pelvis. The end result is typically a demised fetus and a lifelong fistula for her. This isn't a result of lack of heart. There just aren't enough skilled health workers or resources to care for all the women in need.
On the gynecology floor, a single resident tries to manage forty acutely ill patients occupying the twenty beds. Life-threatening, ruptured ectopic pregnancies are a common complication on this ward. She is taken back to the operating room only when sutures can be found and an anesthesiologist is available is the patient taken to the operating room. Emergency surgery is typically performed by an unassisted resident left to fend for himself. The majority of the remainder of beds are filled with women slowly dying from cervical cancer. Neither chemotherapy nor surgery is available so they are simply forgotten and left to fade away.
Finally, there are an abundance of patients whose baseline of health and quality of life are negatively affected by benign gynecological processes. There is insufficient medical supplies, surgical equipment, and supervising physicians to care for these woman with acute issues, nonetheless those with benign disease, which leaves them to suffer for a lifetime.
S.T.A.R. International combines the delivery of surplus surgical equipment and training camps for resident physicians to provide supervision and improve efficiency and skill. These efforts towards capacity building will give Ugandan health care providers the resources necessary to optimally care for women and will ultimately lead to improved women's health in Uganda.
For further reading:
Maternal Mortality Uganda: http://allafrica.com/stories/201308090843.html
Mulago Maternity ward: http://olsonfarlow.com/editorial-images/maternity-ward-at-mulago-hospital-kampala-uganda
Making a Difference: Shanti Uganda: http://shantiuganda.org/about/our-story/