15 hospitals to get eye care equipment

Nov 25, 2021

The equipment, which includes ophthalmoscopes, cataract kits will go towards Jinja, Mbale, Lira, Gulu, Arua, Hoima, Kikuube, Fort Portal, Mbarara, Kabale, Masaka and Soroti Regional Referral Hospitals. Others are Mulago National Referral Hospital and Entebbe General Hospital.

Officials from Light of the World handing over the equipment to Dr. Diana Atwiine at the ministry’s headquarters in Kampala on November 24, 2021. Photos by Lawrence Mulondo

NewVision Reporter
Journalist @NewVision

A total of 15 Referral Hospitals are to receive eye care equipment that will help to improve ophthalmologic care services in the country.

The equipment, which includes ophthalmoscopes, cataract kits will go towards Jinja, Mbale, Lira, Gulu, Arua, Hoima, Kikuube, Fort Portal, Mbarara, Kabale, Masaka and Soroti Regional Referral Hospitals. Others are Mulago National Referral Hospital and Entebbe General Hospital.

The equipment was donated to the Ministry of Health by Light for the World, an international non-governmental organization, and is valued at 100,000 euros (sh400m). 

Receiving the equipment at the ministry’s headquarters at Wandegeya, Diana Atwine, permanent secretary ministry of health, said the donation would help increase access to eye care services in the country. 

She said most of the hospitals are inadequately equipped and largely depend on partners for equipment.

“That is the reason why we are asking for enough funding to buy more equipment and prioritize specialist training of all the critical cadres. The Ophthalmology department is relying so much on goodwill from partners,” she said.

She said part of the problem is the structuring of the sector, which identifies the sight problem as a disability.   “We are going to separate ophthalmology from disability because an eye disease cannot be termed as a disability. We need to discuss this and have it as an independent docket,” she added.

She pledged to follow up and ensure the equipment is put to good use.

“The machines should be used for the reason for which they have been procured. We are committed to seeing that the services go higher,” she said.

Sylvester Kasozi, the Light for the World country director, said he was hopeful  that the equipment would make a difference in eye care in the country, especially in underserved parts of the country.   He said the donation is part of the organization’s 10-year strategy from 2020, where they are focusing on eye health.

He said previously they would focus on intervening on uncorrected refractive errors which are shortsightedness and long-sightedness. However, they are moving on to the entire eye health which involves awareness, prevention, providing eyeglasses, and surgeries.

Stanley Bubikire, the Assistant Commissioner of Health Services in charge of the Disability & Rehabilitation Division, explained that the main cause of blindness in Uganda just like other developing countries is cataracts. "According to our survey, it is responsible for 57.1% of the total blindness burden," she said. 

 He said ophthalmoscopes were outdated and others were old, and had lost sharpness, which necessitates that the doctor comes very close to the patient, which exposes doctors, contracting covid19.

“With the Covid-19 arena the practice is dangerous as it promotes transmission. The donation allows you to examine the patient several feet from the client and get all the details,” he said.

He said referral hospitals like Masaka, Hoima, and Kabale do not have these specialists.

He, however, said they rely on other eye care workers and ophthalmic clinical officers who are able to offer most of the services except high-level surgeries in the department.

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