Nakivale (Uganda) : cases of postnatal deaths worry refugees

In two weeks, Medical Team International recorded eight women who died just after or during childbirth. The figure worries refugees as the camp’s central hospital has just been renovated.INFO SOS Médias Burundi

The lack of adequate medications and specialist doctors is cited among main causes by nurses.

“Six deaths were caused by a dire lack of blood bags and treatment to stop hemorrhaging after cesarean operations. Two other women died when they returned to the hospital in less than a week after their discharge, which means that there were complications,” said a nurse.

Today, fear sets in especially among pregnant women or those bedridden in hospital waiting to give birth.

“Every patient worries about her fate when hearing this bad news. Their psychological morale is at its lowest. Some admitted to being tempted to make a high-risk decision to give birth in their household if nothing is done as soon as possible,” underline sources within the camp.

Last February, the Nakivale camp in Uganda acquired a referral hospital. It is in fact a renovated health center with new premises and services such as surgical operations.

The rehabilitation of “Nyarugugu Health Center III” to move to the next level and become a referral hospital which should serve the camp and a large part of the surrounding Ugandan community had nevertheless made refugees and the host community jubilant.

Despite this, beneficiaries of the services of this health entity regret that it is seriously lacking in medicines. Worse, they add, is that transfers of emergency cases to Kampala, the Ugandan capital, the Mbarara regional hospital or that of Rwekubo, in western Uganda, are no longer taking place.

When this structure opened, the UNHCR announced that it would also be equipped with new equipment and doctors, including specialists such as pediatricians and gynecologists.

Medical Team International, MTI, the UNHCR’s main health partner, like this UN agency, were contacted by the refugees and the hospital administration.

They demand that if the hospital is unable to treat patients, transfers resume to save lives. MTI has agreed to look into this issue but refugees do not expect much from it.

Nakivale has more than 140,000 refugees, including more than 33,000 Burundians.