BY JOE RWANGI
KIBOGA: The Infectious Disease Institute has renovated health facilities in Kiboga and Kyankwanzi to a tune of Shs300m to help improve health service delivery in the two districts.
Speaking at the handover of the renovated infrastructure at Kiboga District Hospital on Thursday, Dr Twaha Mahaba, the IDI project coordinator, said IDI’s decision to offer support to the two districts was informed by the challenge of medical infrastructure the two districts were facing.
“We realised that Kiboga District Hospital lacked a properly functioning laboratory and over Shs92 million was solicited to renovate their laboratory so that many people can be effectively served,” he said.
Dr Mahaba added that their mission is to strengthen health systems in Africa with a strong emphasis on infectious diseases, through research and capacity development.
He said IDI currently provides care and treatment services to over 100,000 people living with HIV in urban and rural settings in Uganda directly through their large clinic, and in partnership with government and non-government health facilities which amount to about 10 per cent of the national effort.
“IDI also provides extensive prevention services including medical male circumcision and is a national referral centre for complicated cases of HIV,” he added.
IDI has trained over 19,000 health workers from Uganda and 27 other African countries. Training covers HIV/AIDS and TB co-infection, malaria, lab services, pharmacy, systems strengthening (data management, monitoring and evaluation, grants management), and research capacity building.
According to Dr Leo Lubowa, the hospital medical superintendent, the laboratory tests more than 150 patients a day majorly in HIV testing, CD4 testing, viral load monitoring, liver functioning tests, malarial tests, T.B testing among others.
He said the improved laboratory will enable them serve the patients effectively and protect the medical workers from risks of being infected while on duty.
Apart from the laboratory at Kiboga district hospital, IDI with funding from Centre for Disease Control reconstructed two other medical facilities one in Kiboga district and another in Kyankwanzi district.
The two are; Kambugu Health Centre three at Shs84m in Kiboga district, and Nalinya Ndagire Health Centre III in Kyankwanzi district at Shs74m.
Dr Michael Musitwa, the Kiboga District Health Officer, said the support from IDI to the district will enable the health facilities and health workers serve the communities better unlike before when they were operating in a makeshift laboratory.
He said before IDI came in to support health centres in the district, many patients lacked conducive facilities but the health sector in the district has improved in the last five years.
