from the press

Health & Living July 30, 2009

JOSHUA MASINDE

Jane Namala writhes in pain. She tightly clutches her temple with both her hands. She cannot speak but only mutters a few words, expressing the intensity of the pain she is feeling. She has a dental problem and has come to have her two decayed yet painful teeth extracted.
A few metres away, Aisha Nalubega has brought Tatya Nankumba, her 11-month old baby for medical check-up. The baby has an umbilical hernia (an elongated navel), which has given both mother and baby endless nightmares.
Dr Patrick Kaliika, a clinical director who examined Nalubega’s baby, referred them to Masaka District hospital for an operation. Nalubega cannot help but say she does not have money for the operation.
All this unfolds at Mulabana centre, a remote area on Ssese Islands in Kalangala District. Many of the patients suffer silently for many months as there is no trace of a hospital or clinic nearby, but a small health centre located many kilometres away. The health centre often lacks the drugs to meet the patients’ health needs, according to Richard Kirule, the President of Rotary Club of Kampala, Ssese Islands.
At Mulabana centre, patients are strewn all over. Their genuine search for medical examination and attention is written on their faces. For some, especially the women and young children, pain, suffering and destitution are hidden beneath their smiling countenances.
Their wait for the free medical examination and free drugs, even when it’s once per annum, is worth it as they are now receiving free medical care from the members of Rotary Club, Ssese Islands. The opportunity is a God-send to the inhabitants of this almost God forsaken area. The patients are too willing to tell the two doctors, two dentists and the team of Rotarians examining them, of their sicknesses, woes and names.
Richard Kirule, says the free medical outreach extended to the people of Ssese islands, is conducted three times a year. The three times are allotted to different centres of the Ssese islands, in order to reach to a sizeable population of those in dire need of the free medical care. “Coming here quarterly is not enough but it is expensive in terms of time and money,” says Richard. He adds, “We spend a lot of money like Shs2m on doctors and other expenses.” The drugs alone cost them Shs1m.
The medical outreach covers all ailments like malaria, STDs like HIV/Aids, typhoid, flu, ringworms. They also conduct counselling on nutrition and immunisation. According to doctor Kaliika, they also do HIV testing and counselling. “For those who are positive, we refer them to Joint Clinical Research Centre (JCRC) in Kalangala town,” he says.
In addition to this, they not only de-worm the community members, but also give supplements and distribute condoms to those who are in need. The crowd of patients at Mulabana centre, had more dental cases than any other. Most of the patients like Jane Namala and Francis Ziwa, a photographer, had their teeth extracted.
Before the extraction of Namala’s two premolar teeth, she was feeling acute headache. She was unable to express herself. But, Francis Ziwa’s aching tooth took a dentist fifteen minutes to extract. “It was my first time to come here for dental examination,” says Ziwa, adding “It was very painful.” He developed the toothache a year ago, though he would not go to the Health centre in Kalangala town for check up because he could not afford the charges.
Dr Barbarah Nabageraka, who is a dentist based in Kalangala District acknowledges that many of the dental problems are due to the type of food like fish and bread which accelerate teeth decay. “Bad oral and personal hygiene, type of food like fish, which is sticky, make teeth decay quickly,” says Dr Nabagereka. The remedies she and her co-dentist handled were refilling, removal of scales on those with gum diseases and extraction of decayed painful teeth. However, she says there were few cases of refilling as opposed to extractions.