Stakeholders may support or oppose an initiative but there are also situations where both forces exist. The most preferred situation, however, is when support outweighs the latter two situations. And if remarks by the leadership and representatives of beneficiary communities of the Kampala Slum Maternal Newborn Health Project (MaNe) are anything to go by, the initiative which was launched May 3, starts from a point of strength after getting the requisite buy-in.
With funding from the United States Agency for International Development, the three-year MaNe project is a collaboration of Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), Population Services International (PSI) Uganda, with the two entities as the lead implementers and Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH) leading on the learning component.
Described as a unique project which seeks to initiate and test innovative interventions and approaches for better maternal and newborn outcomes in the slum communities and informal settlements in the divisions of Rubaga and Makindye in the city.
Speaking at the launch, Rubaga Urban Council Mayor Ms Joyce Ssebugwawo welcomed the initiative saying it was timely and would improve the lives of mothers and newborns in the area.
“We welcome this project with open arms. I have passion for the wellbeing of mothers and children and this project is part of my vision. Prevention of maternal and newborn deaths in the labour ward should be reduced to zero,” said Ms Ssebugwawo. “My office is open all the time let’s work as a team.”
She urged stakeholders including the beneficiary communities, opinion leaders, technocrats, and policy makers in Makindye and Rubaga to work towards making MaNe a success.
Ms Ssebugwawo said she was optimistic of success because unlike in previous initiatives by the urban authority which have not yielded much, the involvement of beneficiaries in the design of MaNe would make it succeed.
In a related development Councillor Aisha Namutebi, who also sits on KCCA’s Public Health Committee said during the design workshop, her team resolved conduct regular supervision of public facilities in the city as a measure of improving quality.
Said Ms Namutebi: “We are going to do supervision, see what is missing, give feedback to the facilities and when we return, we shall see whether they have worked on the identified issues. This way, we believe we shall improve healthcare in our facilities.”
Rubaga Division’s Town Clerk said he would rally the technical support the project. He also called for more male involvement in maternal and newborn services and stop turning child delivery into an emergency.
In a speech read for her by Dr Frank Kaharuza, USAID Uganda’s Health Office Director Michelle Lang-Alli, said the MaNe project would go a long way towards bridging the inequity experienced by the disadvantaged communities in the city’s informal settlements.
“Over 95 percent of services in Kampala are by the private sector and the poor find it difficult to pay for these services and so use the limited public sector. Mothers need not die giving birth. As USAID, we are committed to working with the Government of Uganda to improve maternal and child health,” Ms Langa-Alli wrote. She further noted that most maternal deaths are preventable and the tools to prevent mortality were available.