Kathie Davey
Volunteer Missionary Movement
Uganda
The Diocese of Fort Portal, with the support
of the Volunteer Missionary Movement (VMM) is in
the process of developing a very innovative
programme of producing Intravenous Fluids. Fort
Portal is in the mid-western region of Uganda
and lies at the centre of the Diocese of Fort
Portal. The population of the area is
approximately 1.2 million people and although
the region has a reliable rainfall, farms are
small and therefore subsistence farming is the
main occupation.
The VMM staff work very closely with the Diocese
of Fort Portal and Dr. Sr. Rovina Turyazayo in
improving the health of the local people. The
proposed IV fluids project was chosen because
infusions are one of the most needed early
treatments for major health problems in the
area. The project is modelled closely on a very
successful unit in Moshi in neighbouring
Tanzania which has been producing fluids for the
last thirty years. At present 98% of the IV
fluids used in Uganda are imported mainly from
India. This sometimes leads to shortages and
price hikes often putting the product out of
reach for poor families.
This
project was submitted to the IMRS by Kathie
Davey, a VMM volunteer from Dublin who is
presently working in Fort Portal in an effort to
collect the remaining funding needed to get the
IV Unit established. According to Kathie, 'the
project would make a huge difference to poor
people who presently are unable to afford the
high prices of the IV fluid'. She explains that
IV fluids are an essential element in Primary
Health Care for treating many of the most common
but serious conditions found in Uganda. They are
the first line of treatment for cases of severe
dehydration due to fever, accidents,
complications of childbirth, diarrhoea, HIV/AIDS
related opportunistic diseases and of course in
the administration of medicines intravenously
(especially quinine for malaria) and for cases
of severe malnutrition. Kathie believes that a
reliable, local supply of IV fluids will help to
reduce both the level of morbidity and
mortality. She cites the case of a young girl
called Vicky who developed a severe case of
malaria. Vicky was taken to hospital in a coma.
After a two day battle she responded to drugs
and re-hydration administered with IV fluids.
'She was a very lucky little girl because
without the treatment she would have died.
Sadly, many children are not so fortunate.
Statistics of the area show that one in five
children never reach their fifth birthday.'
Kathie is hopeful that the new unit when in full
production will supply the needs of the
hospitals and clinics of the region. 'This would
mean eventually that very poor families will be
able to receive the fluids free of charge or at
least for a nominal fee.'