Baylor College of Medicine
Children’s Foundation - Uganda
Children’s Foundation - Uganda
On October 10, 2024, the Ministry of Health handed over equipment valued at $125,965 to implementing partners at Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation-Uganda (Baylor Foundation Uganda) in Mulago. The equipment that included blood pressure machines, stethoscopes, thermometers, hospital beds, weighing machines, and their accessories was procured by Baylor Foundation Uganda with support from PEPFAR through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC). The handover ceremony was attended by dignitaries from the Ministry of Health, the U.S. CDC, Baylor Foundation Uganda, district health officials, and implementing partners.
This donation aims to improve services for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV at lower-level healthcare facilities, which are mostly accessed by pregnant women in rural communities.
In his remarks, Mr. Albert Maganda, the Director of Strategic Development, Monitoring & Evaluation at Baylor Foundation Uganda, expressed delight to be a part of the handover ceremony. “Children are our soft spot as Baylor Foundation Uganda, so we are excited to support the Ministry of Health in its effort to improve PMTCT services at the HCIIs,” he remarked. “These medical supplies will help mothers and babies access quality health care in over 378 health facilities in the country, and we really appreciate the US government and the American people for this great donation,” Mr. Maganda added.
Dr. Linda Nabitaka, the HIV focal person at the Ministry of Health, thanked the AIDS development partners for responding to the needs of the Ministry. She stated that although early infant diagnosis services are provided at HC IIIs, over 46% of the mother-infant care is carried out at HCIIs. “We have therefore endeavored to extend these services to HC IIs to improve healthcare services to HIV-exposed infants and their mothers in rural communities,” she said. She further requested for health worker training on how to use the equipment so that they can do their jobs better.
Ms. Juliet Busingye, the PMTCT specialist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), thanked the Ministry of Health for improving health service delivery at HCIIs, where most mothers in rural communities access antenatal services. Ms. Busingye further appreciated the Baylor Foundation Uganda for taking the lead in the procurement of the equipment. She also thanked the US government for the funding and all the other implementing partners present for contributing to the overall goal of eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Uganda.
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