Seven health facilities receive new equipment to improve newborn survival
Dr Margaret Nakaketo, a neonatologist and board member of Bulamu Healthcare International, said lack of equipment to help babies breathe has historically contributed to newborn deaths.
Some of the neonatal care unit equipment donated by Bulamu Healthcare International at the Ministry of Health on September 17, 2026. (Photos by Nicholas Oneal)
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Seven selected health facilities have been equipped with modern neonatal care equipment in an effort to improve the survival of newborn babies.
The equipment has been provided by Bulamu Healthcare International in partnership with the Ministry of Health to strengthen neonatal care and ensure that newborns who require specialised treatment can receive timely care closer to their communities.
The intervention is expected to reduce the need for families to travel long distances in search of specialised neonatal services, particularly in districts where such services have been limited.
Other items include baby coats, oxygen splitters, newborn weighing scales and Penguin suction devices.
Richard Businge, the Director of Maternal Newborn and Child Health Services at Bulamu Healthcare International, inspecting some of the machines before the flagging off of some Neonatal Care Unit equipment at the Ministry of Health
The health facilities that benefited include Gulu Regional Referral Hospital, Pallisa, Kibuku HC IV, Butebo HC IV, Atiak HC IV, Kibito HC IV and Otwee HC III.
Dr Margaret Nakaketo, a neonatologist and board member of Bulamu Healthcare International, said lack of equipment to help babies breathe has historically contributed to newborn deaths.
The biggest problem is that babies come out and they cannot breathe, and then we did not have the equipment to make them breathe,” experts said.
Nakakeeto said such equipment is helping address the gap by providing the equipment needed to resuscitate newborns and sustain their breathing.