Community Health

The two meetings we had yesterday afternoon got to the reasons for this expedition. The first was with the faculties of the teachers college and the nursing school. Dr. Serge hosted and Dr. Paul, the Ministry of Health's Chief of the Zone, was a key voice in the room. It was a gathering of the brain trust of Mulongo, all of its university trained leaders.

There were the regular lists of things that we need, from buildings to computers. But Dr. Paul hit our generative theme when he pulled out the statistics on cholera (100 cases in 2009), diarrhea (6,154), typhoid fever (413 cases with 31 deaths). All of these cases are from the lack of safe drinking water and poor sanitation.

But here's where it got hot: Dr. Paul had been to Kamina to meet with UMCOR and the United Methodist Church. We were drilling wells in Kamina, a place that, in his opinion, already has safe drinking water. His frustration with the bureaucracy of development aid programs was palpable. I have to agree with him with one addition. UMCOR has now pulled out of Kamina. (Mission Accomplished?)

To be fair, Kamina is the most under-reported success stories in recent years. They are standing firm against the war, local peace accords, construction, clinics and schools, all actions reversing the tide of the war with real hope. The people who give generously to UMCOR and other mission funds should be proud of what their donations have done, but the work is far from complete. The districts that were devastated by the war have received almost no help in recovery. Large villages like Mulongo have been promised much and received little.

In addition, there is a time bomb ticking. There were 87 cases of HIV reported in 2009, most brought into the area by Zimbabwean, Rwandan, and Ugandan soldiers. There is nothing that doctors here can do for their patients and the HIV infected are returning to their villages. The only ones receiving any treatment are mothers giving birth.

The second meeting was more of a celebration. We met with the women students of the nursing school. Female nurses are a new thing here. They are pioneering a major social change. I was inspired by their sense of purpose and their goal to have a woman in charge of 50% of the health centers right now. Getting intentional about training women nurses may very well be what turns this health crisis around.

Bob
Mulongo