Panyadoli Healthcare Project

The Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement in Bweyale, Uganda, is a UNHCR managed refugee settlement that provides shelter, land, and support for more than 100,000 people. They are comprised of refugees from Kenya, DR Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan. RMF has partnered with UNHCR in supporting Kiryandango Refugee Settlement, the surrounding community of Bweyale, and the greater Kiryandongo District (an additional 266,197 people) with health care, education, and vocational training since 2008.

This initiative focuses specifically on RMF’s role at the Panyadoli Health Centre, which provides healthcare services to over 100,000 refugees and persons in the community.

RMF’s goal is to upgrade and maintain the Panyadoli Health Care Centres at a high level of hygienic and operating standards in order to improve the health status of the population.

Medical

• Provide medicine, medical supplies, and medical support
• Support service delivery through employing medical personnel (e.g skilled midwives have increased antenatal services and mothers are now seeing hope in deliveries at the facilities instead of delivering at home)
• Maintain up to date health information
• Maintain effective disease surveillance and prevention through community health services system
• Support of the Health Management Information System Maintenance (staff and petrol supply)
• Reach communities with health services through outreach programs
• Raise health service awareness through health promoters and community health teams

HIV/AIDS Care

• Provide Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT)
• Distribution of condoms
• Manage opportunistic infections
• Assist and support survivors
• Sensitize communities on prevention, care, guarding against discrimination and stigma, and avoiding risky lifestyles that lead to the spread of HIV/AIDS.
• Provide HIV/AIDS counselor

Hygiene

• Improve hygiene at health centers to Best Practice Modern Medicine standards
• Promote hygiene through recruitment of more compound and ward cleaners

Upkeep

• Upkeep and renovation of the health center through periodic re-painting and re-plastering
• Support and maintain the security of the health centers through employing security guards
• Enhance existing structures for the malnutrition ward and main center

Despite the cease fire discussions to end the South Sudan crisis, no agreement has been reached and fighting has continued. Therefore, more refugees will be coming. This requires additional funding to provide services that will match the increased population of refugees. On average, we receive over 170 new refugees per day.

Additional Challenges

• Delays in PHC funds as the government doesn’t follow the quarterly releases and low overall government funding
• Delays in accessing services at Kiryandongo Hospital due to language barriers and the lack of a referral focal person
• Inadequate staffing results in delays in blood screening, which affects time taken to access treatment by the patients
• Laboratory block has multiple cracks and needs renovation for safety of staff and patients
• Solar power is needed for the wards and operating theater
• Lack of adequate medical supplies (see most recent report for specifics)
• Lack of a psychiatric nurse at the health centers, hence high referrals rates
• Lack of treatment for chronic diseases, especially high blood pressure

Through Real Medicine Foundation and World Children’s Fund support, Panyadoli Health Centre III has become a reliable source of health care services to the community.

As a result,

• Death rates have been reduced significantly in both the refugee and host communities
• There has been general improvement in quality of life
• The increase in number of staff has tremendously added value to health services
• The establishment of the Health Clinic at the Reception Centre has reduced overcrowding at Panyadoli Health Centres II and III
• Hospital utilization rates have increased with changed health seeking behavior among refugees

RMF will continue to provide supplies and staff while searching for additional resources to aid the refugee and local community.