Obongi Health Centre IV, which conducts nearly 1,400 deliveries annually despite severe staffing and resource shortages, has received maternal healthcare equipment and supplies worth Shs40 million from Stanbic Bank Uganda.
The donation includes 20 hospital beds, 30 mattresses, two patient monitors and 200 Mama Kits to improve care for pregnant women, mothers and newborns at the district’s main referral health facility.
The support comes as demand for healthcare services continues to grow in Obongi District, which has a population of more than 240,000 people, including communities hosting refugees.
Dr Tagule Sunday, the assistant district health officer in charge of maternal and child health, said the facility conducts about 1,388 deliveries annually, including 322 Caesarean sections.
As the district’s main referral centre, Obongi Health Centre IV receives patients from across the district and neighbouring areas, placing pressure on its staff and available resources.
Speaking at the handover ceremony on Wednesday, Stanbic Uganda Holdings chief executive Mark Ocitti Ongom said improving access to essential healthcare requires cooperation between government, the private sector and communities.
“A nation’s social progress cannot be the responsibility of government alone. It depends on government providing leadership, the private sector investing responsibly, and citizens and communities playing their part,” Ocitti said.
He said the donation was intended to improve conditions for expectant mothers, newborns and healthcare workers at the facility.
“This is a practical investment in dignity: safer deliveries, better patient care and stronger support for the health workers who serve families every day. Every mother deserves a safe environment in which to give life, and every child deserves a healthy beginning,” he added.
However, Obongi County MP Hassan Kaps Fungaro said the health centre continued to face a serious shortage of health workers, operating at only 32 per cent of its required staffing levels.
He said the shortage of personnel, combined with limited access to modern medical equipment, continued to affect the delivery of healthcare services in the district.
The staffing gap means the facility must serve mothers and other patients with far fewer workers than it needs, despite its role as the district’s main referral centre.
Assistant RDC Eva Kwesiga Nalongo welcomed the donation and urged health workers and facility administrators to use and maintain the equipment and supplies properly.
“We are a vulnerable district and hard to reach, but with support like this from partners like Stanbic, we stand firm that soon this young district will overcome our prevailing challenges,” she said.
The donation was made under Stanbic Bank Uganda’s annual October Love Month community outreach programme. It also forms part of activities marking the bank’s 35 years of operations in Uganda.
Stanbic Bank Uganda executive director and head of personal and private banking, Sam Fredrick Mwogeza, attended the handover ceremony.
