#OccupyUganda
For the past two days, Sarah and I have followed TASO’s medical staff into Gulu Regional Referral Hospital for follow-up care for any of TASO’s clients that have been referred into the public health care system due to an emergency or worsening chronic conditions.
Our first day at Gulu Referral was spent on the Internal Medicine (IM) and Tuberculosis (TB) Wards. The first thing I noticed upon entering IM was the overwhelming smell of urine. It’s quite understandable that hygiene flies out the window considering that I did not see a single orderly or support worker and the nurses, medical students and single attending physician were all too busy to care.
Given that the patient load was too much, the TASO medical staff was able to step in and order X-Rays at another facility for two patients with suspected TB as well as ordering a blood transfusion for a ludicrously anemic patient. Upon finishing in IM, we headed next door to the TB Ward where, frankly, I wasn’t prepared for what I would see. I’m pretty certain that most people reading this blog have seen images of emaciated Africans on WorldVision commercials asking for money. It’s even worse when you see it in person. TB weakened her and made her lose weight but intestinal parasites have literally wasted her down to an emaciated shell of what I thought a human could look like. The hospital was out of Loperamide (for her diarrhea) and Albendazole (for her worms) so the situation was pretty bleak. Thankfully, TASO had blankets and oral rehydration salts to provide the nursing staff to make her more comfortable.
The next day, we visited the Pediatrics and Nutrition Wards where I had probably one of the most depressing and angering experiences of my life. Children who are admitted to the Nutrition Ward, for reasons unbeknownst to me have to spend their day on concrete floors. Kids are often less than three years old but barely look like newborns due to their horrendous cases of malnutrition and parasites. I saw a rail-thin child barely breathing on a concrete floor with a single blanket covering her all because the hospital was woefully ill-equipped to handle her case. What infuriated me even more was when Rebecca (a TASO physician) told me the story of how the former director of the hospital was arrested for stealing 2 billion Ugandan shillings (approximately $750,000 which would go a long way here) and the only reason why he was thrown in jail was because he wasn’t sharing his new found wealth with those that turned him in. Furthermore, the Ugandan Ministry of Health is keeping most of its operating budget in Kampala and isn’t spreading it out to the rest of the country – especially the north.
It’s obvious that corruption is rife in the world in all public institutions, but the damning situation that’s happening in Uganda’s public health care sector needs drastic change from its own citizenry. The work that TASO is doing is obviously making positive changes on a patient-to-patient basis, but I think that most of my time in Uganda has been spent on the fortunate side of life. Uganda needs a change and even though it can’t start with me (as a non-Ugandan), my compassionate, caring and downright amazing co-workers can start to make this difference.
Casey
