By Leslie David Montgomery | Project Leader
Medicine and Care for 2500 Ugandan Orphans
Leslie D. Montgomery, Project Leader
David Ssagala, Project Field Manager
GlobalGiving Report.
Bega Kwa Bega with funding from GlobalGiving has been able to treat a total of 3958 patients in 15 villages of Kakiri Subcounty, Wakiso district. Of these 2702 were children while 1256 were adults above the age of 18 years. The diseases that were treated, in order of severity, included malaria, cough, worms, backache, wounds, pregnancy related ailments, urinary tract infections, eye infections, toothaches, diarrhea, sexually transmitted diseases, ulcers, arthritis and anemia.
Malaria, the number one killer disease registered a total of 1,329 patients. The persistence of diseases is aggravated by ignorance about and failure to use preventive initiatives, poor hygiene and feeding styles, smoke from the cooking stoves and kerosene lamps and low adaption levels on proper mosquito net usage. Changing habits among adults takes time.
Besides administering treatment the Clinic advises on among others, antenatal care, family planning, HIV and AIDS and nutrition. As a result there has been a noticeable increase in the growing and consumption of fruits and vegetables as a preventive measure to malnutrition, airborne diseases such as coughs, flu and importantly boosting the immune system. Married men have also embraced the clinic in terms of allowing their wives and children to attend something they had previously opposed. For sustainability the clinic is emphasizing and encouraging the use of traditional curative plants and herbs which are known to locals and grow wild. On each visit messages are disseminated on their usage, for instance the use of papaya seeds for deworming is increasingly being accepted. Nevertheless there is still high demand for drugs especially for ailments with no alternative local cures. We also plan to encourage professional herbalists and our own patients to share traditional medicines known to their families.
There were 46 referrals made to seek further specialized treatment due to the severeness of their complications. Apart from general treatment of ailments, patients received sensitization in hygiene and sanitation, family planning and antenatal advise, drug administration and dietary issues.
Please read the attached article, that was written by our field staff, for a description of the services that our Mobile Health Clinic provided in one rural village in Uganda.
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