Bank of Uganda donates patient monitors worth ugx250 million to boost maternal care
The donation forms part of the central bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility programme, Maternal and Child Health for a Healthy Society, which was launched in 2016 to mark the institution’s 50th anniversary.
Bank of Uganda has donated 17 patient monitors worth UGX250 million to health facilities across the country in a move aimed at strengthening maternal and child healthcare services.
The equipment was officially handed over on Wednesday morning by the bank’s Secretary, Susan Kanyemibwa, to the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health Uganda, Diana Atwine.
According to the central bank, the monitors will be distributed to health centres serving populations of more than 100,000 people in several districts, including Soroti, Soroti City, Karenga, Omoro, Buvuma, Buyende, Wakiso, Nabilatuku, Sironko, Tororo, Kwania, Serere and Ibanda. Regional referral hospitals in Lira and Fort Portal will also benefit from the donation.
Dr. Atwine welcomed the support, noting that proper patient monitoring is critical in improving treatment outcomes, particularly for mothers and newborns requiring specialised care.
“The quality of care a patient gets is in how well they are monitored,” Atwine said. “This equipment will improve the quality of post-operation care especially for mothers and children in critical condition.”
The donation forms part of the central bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility programme, Maternal and Child Health for a Healthy Society, which was launched in 2016 to mark the institution’s 50th anniversary.
Since its inception, the initiative has invested more than UGX5 billion in strengthening healthcare services across Uganda through the construction and upgrade of health facilities as well as the donation of essential medical equipment and medicines.
Kanyemibwa said the programme has helped transform health infrastructure in several districts.
“Districts that had dilapidated health centres now have state-of-the-art facilities,” she said. “Health centres that did not have operating theatres to perform life-saving Caesarean births now perform them. Centres that had no maternity wards at all now have them.”
She added that the initiative reflects the central bank’s commitment to national development as it marks a major institutional milestone.
“These are among the achievements that Bank of Uganda is proud of as we celebrate 60 years of the Bank’s existence since August 1966,” Kanyemibwa said.
Health officials say improved equipment and infrastructure at lower-level health facilities are critical in reducing maternal and infant mortality, particularly in rural districts where access to advanced medical services remains limited.
