Health and Wellbeing

The first Plastic Bottle Hospital

Throughout the design and construction of the centre, we have taken the environment into account.  Our environmental credentials are as follows:

  1. Solar-powered. Although we are on the electrical grid (just), the centre can run entirely on our solar power installation.
  2. Savings scheme built on collecting Recycled Plastic. We are buying plastic from the community members and are in the process of establishing a Plastic Recycling Social Enterprise in Lwengo to add value to the Plastic. Currently, the funds from the plastic are added to the individual savings account for the plastic they bring to the health centre. 
  3. The Road and Paving will be built from recycled plastic bottles. The first recycled plastic road in Uganda. (One of the first in Africa)
  4. Furniture and Fittings. Where possible, we will use the recycled plastic to make the following items – tables, benches, shelving and stationery items. 
  5. Food and Animal Waste. We will pay the community members to collect food and animal waste which will be used in our Black Soldier Fly project. The funds will be paid into their health savings account.

Lwengo District Health Key Facts

At the moment, one in eight children in Lwengo District will not celebrate their fifth birthday. Imagine if that was the case in the UK – three children out of every nursery class wouldn’t reach reception.

Six medical doctors serve a population of 270,000 people. In Hackney, UK, 150+ doctors serve a similar number.

The Uganda government health budget for Lwengo is £800,000, which is £3 per person. Just one GP practice in Hackney that serves 7,000 people has a budget of £1,000,000, which is £143 per person.

There’s less than the equivalent of one dentist for the whole District, private or government.

Lwengo has no proper operational maternity delivery suite, and there are five maternal deaths for every 1,000 births in the District.

The life expectancy at birth for men in Lwengo is 53.2 years, and for women, it is 63.9 years.

When we last visited, the local community health centre did not have a blood pressure machine. (we have helped to rectify that)

We are currently building a Health Centre that will offer effective and efficient healthcare services. Check here for the milestones.

Sustainable & Affordable Health Care

Many people struggle to afford health care in Lwengo District and it’s even worse during the COVID pandemic and the ongoing economic struggles in Uganda.

The health centre offers a high-quality service at an affordable price no more expensive than any local health centre other than Government centres which provide a service free of charge when they can.

To make the centre both sustainable and affordable, we will:

  1. Offer a great high quality, clinically safe service which attracts those who can pay the full amount
  2. Provide different payment methods which people on lower incomes will be able to afford
  3. Never turn away those who truly can’t pay if their condition threatens their life or their employment. (even via the methods described below)
  4. Continue to focus on the Economic Growth Strategies of Joy For Humanity so that the wealth of the community increases.

We believe it will take 18 months to break even and reach a sustainable model.  We plan to make a surplus in 2024 and have staff sponsorship to support the health centre until then.

Stage 1

Stage 1 was completed in March 2022.  It took 9 months to construct and cost £200,000.  A team of 8 clinicians were recruited and doors opened on 23rd March 2022 .The funding came from individual supporters in the UK.

  1. Dentistry with a high-quality dental chair is not available anywhere else in the District of Lwengo.
  2. A small maternity unit which includes a 4D ultrasound scanner is not available anywhere else in the District.
  3. A well-equipped laboratory. One of the best equipped in the District and able to serve other health clinics locally.
  4. Outpatients
  5. A male ward, a female ward and a children’s ward.
  6. Community Outreach services
  7. Immunisations
  8. A health computer system with patient records and collecting population health data.

Stage 2

We are in the process of raising £125,000 to complete Stage 2, and so far we have raised £25,000. 

An order has also been placed for more furniture for the wards and the construction of staff accommodation will commence soon.

The additional elements of Stage 2 are:

  1. A significantly expanded high-quality maternity suite
  2. An expanded dental suite with two high-quality dental chairs.
  3. A second and larger women’s ward
  4. Additional Outpatients’ capacity.
  5. The first Endometriosis centre in Uganda

A research project on Women’s Health with a multifaceted approach encompassing healthcare access, education, community engagement, and advocacy is being worked on to empower women with the knowledge, resources, and support they need to lead healthier lives and make informed choices about their well-being.

Key components of this project include:

  • Enhancing access to quality healthcare services, focusing on maternal and reproductive health.
  • Raising awareness about critical health issues and advocating for policy changes that benefit women’s health.
  • Promoting women’s education and skill development to foster economic independence.
  • Collaborating closely with local communities, leaders, and organisations to ensure a culturally sensitive and community-driven approach.

Approach to Affordability

Savings Payment Scheme – Accessible to all

Loans for treatment

Insurance Membership

Bursary

The savings scheme has already been set up, and people have started contributing to the savings scheme for their health services. We are working with 16 local villages on the savings scheme. Not only can people save by depositing cash with the scheme, but they can also pay into the scheme by depositing plastic for recycling. We are also starting a project to add food and animal waste as products they can use to save money for their health services.

If a person can’t afford the services they need and have been a member of the savings scheme a credit facility will be offered to them immediately. The level of credit will be according to the ability to pay. This will be ascertained by talking to the village chiefs and through discussion with them and their relatives.
Currently, a normal interest rate for a loan in Uganda is 24% and we would hope to offer these loans at 6% which will be seen as very affordable by the majority of community members.

Six months after opening the health centre, when we have some idea of activity levels, we are planning to research launching a simple health insurance scheme alongside the savings scheme. Whilst in Uganda in April 2021 we researched how we could do this and already have an outline of how we would run this.

This will be available to those who really cannot afford even a loan when they have life-threatening and employment threatening conditions. The bursary will be covered by fundraising in the UK.
Please donate so that we have funds available to provide these donations.

David Wasswa's Story

David weighed 1kg at six months in Sept 2019. He made three years in May 2021.   

David's Story

Every person attending the centre will receive the same level of health care irrespective of their ability to pay. 

Planned Services

General Medical Services and Outpatients.

Inpatient wards

Maternity Ward

Dental Suite

Laboratory

Community Health and Education

Occasional Surgery Clinics

The clinical environment

This will include a daily outpatient service run by a team of nurses. Initially they will be supported by visiting doctors and specialists, plus a virtual doctor support service from the UK. Small wards will be available for those that need inpatient support.
Please help us equip the nurses rooms. – donate.
Sponsor a visiting doctor salary for 12 months – 1 needed
Sponsor a nurses salary for 12 months – 2 needed.
Sponsor an administrator for 12 months – 1 needed

Wards exist in some of the small local health facilities within Lwengo but these are unstaffed. We will be building comfortable staff quarters to ensure we can staff the wards and provide some inpatient support. Three wards for men, women and children.
Please help us equip the wards. Go to equipment list.
Please help us staff the wards for 12 months
Please donate for building the staff quarters

There is no proper functioning delivery suite in the District of Lwengo. We hope to provide a fully functioning maternity suite and ward.
Please help us equip the ward – see list.

There’s no comprehensive dental service available in Lwengo. To begin with, we will employ one full-time dentist, but the dental room will be built to accommodate two dentists. Initially, the general nurses will support with routine dental services.

Currently, there is no lab in Lwengo District – which means medical tests either don’t take place or are sent out of the area.
Our laboratory will serve the patients of the Joy for Humanity health centre as well as other small health clinics in the District.
Please donate for the equipment in the laboratory
Please sponsor lab technicians for 12 months.

Community village nurses will visit homes and pro-actively identify health needs.
Currently, many people don’t use medical services because they fear the cost. The community nurse will work with them to use payment schemes and break down the barriers
Please sponsor 2 community nurses for 12 months

We will make part of the space usable as a temporary operating theatre for visiting specialists.
Please donate for equipping the operating theatre

We want the Joy For Humanity Health Centre to be welcoming and create a peaceful and quality presence. To this end we will want to create beautiful gardens surrounding the premises from the start with good maintenance of the building
Donate for equipping the garden with beautiful plants and seats.
Sponsor a maintenance person for 12 months
Sponsor a gardener for 12 months.

The People Involved

UK Advisory Team