Ireland supports strengthening health systems in Karamoja

News

Ambassador Kevin Colgan and Dr. Peter Lochoro, Country Director of CUAMM in Uganda, signing the grant agreement.

In the spirit of Ireland’s international development strategy A Better World, Ambassador Kevin Colgan has this morning signed a grant agreement worth €1 million with CUAMM.  This funding has been committed to strengthening district health systems for improved access to and utilisation of quality Reproductive Maternal Neonatal Child Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) Integrated Services in Karamoja.  

 Karamoja sub-region still has some of the worst performance indicators for maternal and child survival. In Karamoja, haemorrhage is the leading cause of death for mothers giving birth, in addition the high teenage pregnancy rate mostly driven by poverty, early and forced child marriage is accompanied with  HIV prevalence as high as 2.4%. This funding will benefit over 120,000 pregnant, lactating women and infants below one year; 85,697 adolescent youth; and 482 health workers including doctors, nurses, midwives and clinical officers in Karamoja.

 CUAMM has been commended for timely delivery of the previous project phase funded by Ireland. In this phase, the first fully equipped blood collection and distribution centre in Karamoja was established at Moroto Regional Referral Hospital. In addition three Neonatal Care Units in four hospitals were set up; as was a district drug store at Karenga HC IV in  alongside capacity building of District Health Management Teams.

 Ambassador Colgan said “We are confident that this third phase of the project will be delivered with impact. We believe that the communities in Karamoja especially the most vulnerable pregnant mothers, new-borns and adolescent boys and girls have access to and use quality integrated RMNCAH services.”

Dr. Peter Lochoro in response thanked Ireland for always supporting the people of Karamoja “Over the years the investment of Ireland in education and health in Karamoja has paid off and the region of Karamoja is increasingly closing the gap with the rest of the country. The  focus on reproductive maternal child and adolescent health (RMNCAH) in the last 2 years has been very impactful, with core flagship activities leading to improved blood availability, newborn care, adolescent health, better access and referral. Consequently, we have seen marked declines in maternal deaths and improvement of related RMNCAH indicators. As CUAMM we are happy to be associated with this change.” Dr.Peter Lochoro concluded.

| Next Item »