Meet One Health Worker Who ' s Helping More Women and Babies in Uganda Get Care during COVID-19

By Irene Mirembe, Knowledge management manager, IntraHealth International James Angedu at the Magoro Health Center III. Photo by Irene Mirembe for IntraHealth International.April 06, 2021It’s 10:45 am. The sun is already high in the sky and the heat is unrelenting at Magoro Health Center III in the Kakatwi District of Eastern Uganda.Uganda is experiencing its dry season and patients usually stay away because of the heat, but not at this health facility.The reason: James Angedu, the health worker in charge.At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda in October 2020, eight of James’s staff contracted COVID-19 and a member of the community had died of the disease. Work at the health facility came to a standstill. Fear and rumors spread about the highly infectious disease. Community members stopped coming to the health facility for much-needed health services like maternal and child care. Outpatient services dropped from 1,000 clients per day before the pandemic to 214 clients in October 2020, then 114 in November.With help from IntraHealth International’sRegional Health Integration to Enhance Services in Eastern Uganda (RHITES-E) Activity, James worked to change that.In March 2020, following presidential directives in Uganda, RHITES-E continued to work with the Ministry of Health to deliver high-quality health services in communities such as the one Magoro Health Center serves.The project worked with James to form teams to identify and orient village h...
Source: IntraHealth International - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: COVID-19 Maternal, Newborn, & Child Health World Health Worker Week Health Workers Source Type: news