Thanks for following my travelogue about our project for maternal and neonatal health. I am now back in the United States, in awe of the profound contrast between medical care and accessibility in Uganda compared to what we experience here. I am currently working on our helicopter to pick up emergent medical cases and transport them to the nearest referral hospital. Each flight generally costs $8000-$15000 depending on distance and time spent. In Uganda, the government provides healthcare and spends about $14 per person each year. This example, for me, is very thought provoking regarding cost and impact of healthcare, how we can come to appreciate the amazing opportunities in our lives and try to share them with those who are less fortunate, and how little it can take to change the world. The day after I left Uganda, my team distributed kits to each health center at which we taught workshops, providing them with a brief refresher course on how to use the equipment, as well as bag valve masks, bulb suctions, stethoscopes, and newborn scales. The thought that these supplies will be used to save the lives of newborn babies born in these health centers brings a smile to my face every time.
For more photos of my time in Uganda and to see what I was describing here, you can visit my photo albums:
- Arrival and Safe Birth Workshops
- UDHA and Goat Roast
- Visits and Resuscitation Workshops
- Sipi Falls
- Musana Game Day
I also posted a few videos to our YouTube channel (click here to view)
Edit: since I've already gotten the question from a few people: you can buy t-shirts (like the one I am wearing in the photos) and other gear if you so desire at our online store.
If you enjoyed reading and would like to help with our work in Uganda, we are currently working hard to support our Healthy Villages Initiative in rural Uganda and are in desperate need of funding to continue the programs, which bring safe water, HIV testing, health and sanitation education, health center strengthening programs, and malaria prevention programs to villages in Uganda, among other things. Each village gets a program tailored to its own needs.
You can make a donation through the mail or online at http://www.ugandavillageproject.org/donate_online.htm
