Uganda: Panyadoli Healthcare Project
Celebrating World Breastfeeding Week: Q3 2018
November 01, 2018
Naku Charles Lwanga
Summary of Activities
- Thanks to appeals from donors, Panyadoli Health Centres received 4 boxes of assorted cholera kits from Direct Relief International, a US nonprofit organization.
- Through Global Fund support from IGAD and UNHCR, we conducted 3 community dialogues to promote prevention of HIV/TB and provide information on service access points in Ranch 18 and Zone C of Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement.
- 68 staff members at Panyadoli Health Centre III received weekly CMEs, which improved their skills in detection, diagnosis, and management of hepatitis B.
- RMF delivered a consignment of medicines and medical supplies, alleviating the lack of essential drugs.
- 348 mothers attended a community dialogues on family planning in clusters I, J, O, Q, M, R, N, and G, as well as Nyakadot, Maga-Maga, Bweyale Centre, Yeleken, and Congodok.
- 120 women were mapped in the community and referred for antenatal care services at the health facilities. 11 (1 national and 10 refugees) were teenage expectant mothers.
- 122 pregnant mothers were mapped in Ranch 1 and Ranch 37 and referred for antenatal services through the VHTs. It is very common for mothers not to attend the mandatory antenatal care visits, but with our VHTs distributed all through the community, we were able to meet the set guidelines.
- Formed 6 new care groups in the host community, with 1,350 beneficiaries. The care groups involve nutrition education and nutrition-related assistance for mothers. In these groups, participants share knowledge on good nutrition practices with assistance from the nutrition technical team.
- RMF procured and delivered sufficient cleaning supplies and tools, maintaining a highly motivated, well-equipped team of cleaners who continued to keep the health centers clean and neat.
- Provided laboratory supplies so that patients requiring laboratory services are tested accordingly.
- Conducted nutrition assessment counseling and support training for people living with HIV/TB.
- Salaries, wages, and top-up allowances for all RMF staff members were paid in a timely manner. This kept the team’s morale high.
- Continued tracing patients on ARV treatment and following up with those who have defaulted so that they can be restarted on ART.
- Continuous immunization of all under-5 children living in and around the settlement was implemented through the health facilities and outreach activities.
- Facilitated UNHCR and partners’ coordination meetings both in the settlement and in regional offices, helping to promote cohesiveness in operations.
- Continued facilitating demonstration gardens at Panyadoli Health Centre III as part of our growing Nutrition department.
Full Report
Results &
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Promoting Breastfeeding
Entertaining and Educating
The RMF nutrition team and partners supported the celebration of World Breastfeeding Day by providing nutrition education on the value of breastfeeding and implementing Breastfeeding Week, a seven-day period of activities such as drama shows, dialogues, and mega celebrations at the Reception Centre.
Delivering Midwife Kits
Much Needed Supplies
Through a donation from Direct Relief International, RMF delivered 30 midwife kits to Panyadoli Health Centre III. All the midwife kits were distributed to Panyadoli Health Centre III on August 1, 2018 and have been continuously in use from that time.
Expanding Services
Reducing Referrals
Panyadoli Health Centre III opened a dental clinic and began to provide dental services. After the construction of the Operating Theatre, the number of surgical referrals has been reduced by half, since some operations can now be performed within the center.
Compassionate Care
Spreading Awareness
3 sensitization meetings were conducted on awareness of HIV/AIDS, early and forced marriage, GBV causes, and prevention and management; 291 people (94 men, 197 women) attended.
RMF supported victims of war violence by providing 50 screenings, referring 28 victims for medical treatment, following up on the recovery progress of 35 victims, and providing 2 waist belts.
Malnutrition Prevention
Sharing Tools and Knowledge
RMF carried out general food distribution (GFD) sensitization, which reached 3,560 individuals. Nutrition team members conducted food demonstrations to educate families on how to eat a balanced diet despite limited resources and food availability.
RMF distributed a variety of vegetable seeds to 650 mothers. The distribution of seeds to mothers in the community is an effort to help mothers improve their diets, as well as the diets of their families. This effort aims to combat malnutrition rates in the camp.
Supporting Mothers
Promoting Dignity and Care
250 dignity kits were distributed to all health facilities in Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement, providing new mothers with materials to ensure good hygiene for their babies.
We were also able to conduct MCHN (maternal child health and nutrition) programs at the different facilities, reaching 4,453 beneficiaries (2,070 children and 2,382 women).
Background
& Objectives
Background
The Panyadoli Health Centres, located in Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement near Bweyale, Uganda, provide healthcare services to over 100,000 refugees from Kenya, South Sudan, DR Congo, Burundi, and Rwanda, as well as members of the host community.
Objectives
- Provide medicine, medical supplies, and medical support
- Support the Health Management Information System Maintenance (staff and petrol supply)
- Maintain hygiene at clinic to Best Practice Western Medicine standards
- Enhance existing structures for Malnutrition ward and main center
- Provide cooking materials such as charcoal stoves, saucepans, utensils, etc.
- Upkeep and renovation of the health center through periodic re-painting and re-plastering.
More
Photos
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Success
Stories
Eliya Rwontongeyo
17-month-old
Eliya Rwontongeyo is a 17-month-old boy who was admitted to the nutrition unit at Panyadoli Health Centre III. He was well until the start of May, when he developed generalized body swelling and loss of appetite, accompanied by a cough. This was followed by passing of loose stool, occasional vomiting, and evening fevers. Eliya has no history of medical treatment other than reports from his mother that she had been buying syrups from drug shops to treat the cough. A nutrition assessment was conducted by the nutritionists on Eliya’s arrival at the facility, and his mother revealed that he was breastfed until he was 15 months old and was weaned after she realized that she was pregnant again. Eliya started eating food prepared at home, but without any supplements given. A social assessment was also done, and his mother highlighted that she is in a polygamous marriage, and that her husband is an alcoholic. Eliya is the sixth of seven living children in the family. Eliya was also not fully immunized, and there was no evidence of an immunization card presented by his mother. However, Eliya’s mother informed the team that she had taken the baby to the facility twice for immunizations since birth.
Eliya was weak, irritable, and had a sickly appearance. He had generalized body swelling (grade III edema), his body temperature was 37.3⁰ C, he was febrile to touch, and he showed no pallor (conjunctiva) but had a rapid pulse. The team also conducted the following tests: MRDT, hemoglobin estimation, urinalysis (dip stick), and RCT for both the mother and baby. Eliya was then treated with IV ceftriaxone and nutritional rehabilitation with F75. Eliya was admitted to the ITC with a diagnosis of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) with edema, as well as malaria and pneumonia. The team monitored his weight, edema, and general condition daily.
Gony Nyaruon
28-year-old
Gony Nyaruon is a 28-year-old refugee from South Sudan. She came to Panyadoli Health Centre III with the complication of obstructed labor. She declined to be referred, and delivered a baby girl weighing 3.6 kg. The baby was severely asphyxiated, so we put her on oxygen and monitored her status. The baby was removed from oxygen after 24 hours because she showed signs of recovery; she began to breathe on her own and started breastfeeding. Gony is still under observation, but showing a positive response to treatment. She is grateful to the team of midwives that managed to help her deliver and kept her baby alive, as well as her neighbors who brought her to the facility.
More Reports on: Panyadoli Healthcare Project Archive
Country Page: Uganda
Initiative Page: Panyadoli Healthcare Project
