Maisha Medical Clinic

After one year of the Karusandara clinic’s successful operationalization, our local Ugandan partner Dr. Richard Baluku suggested opening an adjoint clinic in Kirembe, a suburban area of Kasese. While the population is a bit more dense, the inhabitants of Kirembe also need to travel to the city to see a doctor and do not have an offering of local healthcare services. In March 2022, Dr. Richard opened the “Maisha Medical Clinic” to make good and affordable health care services available in Kirembe. 

 

The “Maisha Medical Clinic” has been running successfully for three years now, with an average number of 300 patients per month. Further, Dr. Richard has employed a nurse, Rita, who assists him with patient care and the handling of medical emergencies. Moreover, Dr. Richard set up a comprehensive medicine stock at the clinic in order to supply patients with needed and affordable drugs. To widen his health care service offering, Dr. Richard was able to acquire new medical equipment - with the support of Partnering for Rural Health. 

Dr. Richard can now treat a wider range of diseases and help the population in the rural and suburban area. For example, by being better equipped with an ultrasound machine and a fetal Doppler, Dr. Richard provides essential health care in pregnancy (prenatal and perinatal care) to women. Support in family planning and prenatal care is one of the biggest needs for the rural and suburban population. Without this support, many women end up delivering their babies without having made any medical check-ups, which can lead to complications and threaten the mother’s and child’s lives. 

 

In addition to treating patients in his clinics, Dr. Richard is undertaking comprehensive community health education on disease prevention. He is doing awareness campaigns through local workshops and television programs or at the local radio. Richard explains in local language infectious diseases such as HIV, gives details on tumors and their treatments and provides information on pregnancy and family planning. Thereby, he makes sure that this important information on preventive measures, prenatal and perinatal care reaches all communities in the rural and suburban area.