Mabo Island residents struggle to access healthcare, integrated outreaches bring hope

MITYANA - At just 23 years old, Cissy Nalubowa, a resident of Mabo Island, is already a mother of two. But behind her joy of motherhood lies a painful story of struggle to access health services.

With no health facility on the island, Nalubowa had to travel across Lake Wamala to Maanyi Health Center III in Mityana district on the mainland for antenatal check-ups and delivery.

“During my pregnancies, whenever I experienced labour pains, I had to hire a boat operator to take me across the lake. This came at a cost,” she recalls. Each trip cost her shillings 10,000, an amount that weighed heavily on her family’s income.

She remembers with fear the times labour pains began while still on the boat.

“The thought of giving birth on water terrified me, but I had no option,” she says.

Married to a farmer, Nalubowa’s life on the island means that despite her fear of water and the high cost of transport, she must risk the dangerous boat rides whenever she or her children need health care.

Nalubowa is not alone; many mothers on the island face the same challenges.

To address the problem, Master Card Foundation, through Amref Health Africa, has provided life jackets and transport support to help health workers deliver integrated health services to Mabo Island communities along Lake Wamala in Mityana district.

Through the Saving Lives and Livelihoods (SLL) programme, they are adopting a life-course approach to ensure communities are fully vaccinated against vaccine-preventable diseases from childhood to adulthood.

Other services offered include malaria treatment, HIV testing and initiating treatment and care for those who test positive, among many others.

Speaking at the handover of life jackets to health workers on August 13, 2025, Mityana district health officer Dr Vincent Kawoya said accessing health and social services on islands has been a major challenge.

A nurse vaccinating a mother during the integrated outreaches at Mabo Island.(Credit: Violet Nabatanzi)

“At the island, there are no health facilities. We are soon starting a yellow fever campaign where adults are also required to be vaccinated. To solve the issue of access, AMREF is supporting integrated outreaches,” he said.

Kawoya also urged the health ministry and district stakeholders to provide a boat to transport both patients and health workers. “Hiring a boat costs about shillings 200, 000 for a round trip, and fuel must be bought separately,” he said.

Mityana immunisation focal person Florence Zawede said, “It has been a challenge for health workers to come to this island to vaccinate children because of the lack of life jackets. They have promised to continue supporting us in reaching children who missed routine immunisation services.”

Ronald Katerega, the project officer for the SLL Programme in Mityana and Mubende districts, said health workers have always wanted to reach Mabo Island but lacked protective gear.

“They could not risk sitting on boats without life jackets, so they asked the project for support. We responded by procuring life jackets to enable health workers to come here and offer services,” he said.

This is phase two of the project, which covers eight districts: Mubende, Mityana, Kasanda, Kiboga, Kyankwanzi, Luwero, Nakaseke, and Nakasongola.

The project also prioritises vulnerable groups, including the elderly, health workers, and people living with comorbidities.