Makerere University hospital received a donation of medical equipment from the Makerere University Joint AIDS program (MJAP) on 30th July 2015. The Deputy Vice Chancellor Finance and Administration, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe who received the equipment on behalf of the University commended MJAP for contributing to better service delivery at the facility.
The equipment included a microscope and a Pima CD4 machine; a simple effective point of care to measure CD4 count. This machine will make it possible for patients to receive their CD4 results in les than 20 minutes as opposed to the intial days and weeks of waiting for the same.
“Uganda has some of the best trained doctors but absence of equipment is a major constrain. I take this opportunity to thank MJAP for the collaboration with Makerere University. A healthy nation is a wealthy one. We need to address health issues even at the institutional level so that these efforts eventually aggregate into improvement nationally,” he said. Prof. Nawangwe further applauded efforts at putting up a teaching hospital at Katalemwa through Public private Partnerships.
In highlighting the advantages of this CD4 machine, the lab technician Francis Kalule pointed out that it is user friendly and has an inbuilt battery saving system which enables it to work without hydro electric power. It has the ability to provide absolute CD4 count values in points as opposed to percentages, for example 500 cells per cubic meter.
According to Dr. Jennifer Namusobya, Director MJAP, “With the Pima CD4 machine, patients do not have to make a second trip to the hospital to collect their results, a costly and time consuming process.”
The Director, Makerere University Hospital, Dr. Margaret Wandera, observed that the donation of both machines will go a long way in supplementing services at the University hospital. She shared that Makerere University is open to similar partnership for equipment and other logistics.
By Marion Alina