Rising cases of premature births and newborn complications are overwhelming health facilities across the Lango sub-region, with health workers warning that inadequate neonatal equipment is limiting their ability to save vulnerable infants.
The situation has received a boost after Aduku Health Centre IV in Kwania District received two neonatal incubators worth approximately Shs28 million, a donation expected to improve survival chances for premature babies and reduce newborn deaths in the district.
The incubators were donated by Huguenot Trail Powhatan, Virginia, USA, through Stony Point Church in partnership with Truth Fountain Church in Odokomit North, Lira City. While handing over the equipment, Michael Bryant, the Team Leader from Stony Point Church, said the organization spent over 28 million shillings to procure the equipment. He explained that the donation forms part of a 25-year partnership between the church and communities in Uganda aimed at strengthening health services and saving lives.
Bryant noted that after years of supporting health facilities in Kampala, Jinja, Soroti and Lira, the organization identified Kwania District as an area requiring urgent intervention because of the high number of high-risk deliveries and the limited capacity to care for babies born prematurely. The donation comes at a time when health workers across Lango are reporting increasing cases of premature births, babies born with breathing difficulties, low birth weight and congenital abnormalities requiring specialized neonatal care.
Most lower health facilities in the region lack incubators and neonatal intensive care equipment, forcing critically ill newborns to be referred to Lira Regional Referral Hospital, often after losing valuable time during transportation.
Pastor Silas Okello of Truth Fountain Church said the decision to support Aduku Health Centre IV followed an assessment that exposed the challenges mothers and newborns face in the district. He recalled a heartbreaking incident where a heavily pregnant woman went into labour before reaching the health facility.
She delivered outside the hospital gate, giving birth to a premature baby who had to be wrapped in blankets before being referred to Lira Regional Referral Hospital. The infant later died. Okello said such incidents highlighted the urgent need to equip lower health facilities to stabilize vulnerable newborns immediately after birth instead of relying entirely on referrals.
Dr. Patrick Ogwal, the Senior Medical Officer at Aduku Health Centre IV, speaking on behalf of the Kwania District Health Officer, said the facility attends to more than 600 expectant mothers every four months, many of whom present with high-risk pregnancies.
According to Dr. Ogwal, the facility records between 50 and 60 newborn deaths over the same period, with many babies requiring referral because the health center lacked essential neonatal equipment. He explained that premature babies require controlled warmth and continuous monitoring immediately after birth, services that were previously unavailable at the facility.
Mothers welcomed the donation, describing it as a lifesaving intervention. Nancy Alobo, a resident of Anywal Village in Adyeda Parish who recently delivered at Aduku Health Centre IV, said the equipment gives mothers hope that babies born too early will receive immediate care without the long journey to Lira.
She noted that many families have lost newborns because specialized care was unavailable close to home.Health officials believe the incubators will strengthen maternal and newborn health services not only in Kwania District but also for patients referred from neighboring districts.
The donation also complements ongoing government efforts to improve neonatal care in the Lango Sub-region, where referrals of premature and critically ill babies remain common despite recent investments in newborn care at higher-level health facilities.
Officials say expanding specialized neonatal equipment to district health centers is essential if the region is to reduce preventable newborn deaths and improve survival among babies born prematurely or with birth complications. URN