Campaign Story

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Supporters

Uganda is a country of 38 million people, located in East Africa. It has a ratio of 1 doctor to every 10,000 people, in contrast to Australia’s ratio of 1 doctor to every 3,000 people.

Suubi Community Health Centre is located in Lwengo District in Uganda. It provides very affordable healthcare to the locals in this remote, rural community. A wide variety of healthcare services are currently provided at Suubi Health Clinic, including laboratory testing, pharmaceuticals, family planning, antenatal care, immunisation and public health campaigns.

Monash medical students TeamMED program have volunteered at Suubi Community Health Clinic for the past 3 years, and we have seen first hand the positive impact that the presence the medical centre has had on the region. The locals are so much more informed about their health, are empowered to prevent illness and have access to trained professionals if they require medical attention.

The current challenge that Suubi Community Health Clinic is facing is acquiring a CD4 machine so they can treat patients in the area who have HIV. To be accredited to dispense antivirals (provided by the Ugandan government for all HIV patients) a health provider must have a CD4 count machine. This machine enables a lab test, that measures the number of CD4 cells in a blood sample. Monitoring the CD4 count of HIV patients is the most important laboratory indicator of how well their immune system is working. It enables medical staff to see the effect the ARV treatment is having and to make adjustments when necessary.

Currently there are only two CD4 machines in the whole of Lwengo District, which has a population of close to 300,000 people. The nearest is 10 km away at Kiwangala, but this facility is only open on Thursdays, the other is at Kyazanga about 25 km away. While these distances do not seem overly far by western standards, where everyone has a car or public transport to rely on, the fact is that the HIV patients from Suubi area currently have to use expensive transport options or walk. So, to have a CD4 machine at Suubi Clinic would certainly ease the lives of many HIV patients in the area!

As past medical volunteers we have seen for ourselves what a vital addition a CD4 machine will be to enable Suubi Clinic to expand their current health services. We are joining forces with the TeamMED 2017 cohort, due to set off in January, to raise funds for this much needed machine. We would really appreciate your help to raise enough money to achieve this. Please help us to make a huge difference to the local community!

Every contribution will make a difference!

Donation

7 years ago

– Offline donation

$13000

To be Announced Shortly

8 years ago

– Offline donation

$8000

Ian Goldsmith

8 years ago

$100

Gordon Kirk

8 years ago

– Offline donation

$100

Merjem Colan

8 years ago

– Offline donation

$800

Eastmeadows Girls Sirius College

8 years ago

$70

HappyBrainEducation

8 years ago

– Offline donation

$5000

Yusuf Hassan

9 years ago

$50

Anonymous

9 years ago

– Offline donation

$100

HappyBrainEducation

9 years ago

– Offline donation

$2800

Jamillah Noordin

9 years ago

$50

Nobia Abidi

9 years ago

$50

Erica Torrents

9 years ago

$5

Anonymous

9 years ago

$50

Krita Sridharan

9 years ago

$10

Kathryn Howells

9 years ago

$10

Erin Howells

9 years ago

$5

Anonymous

9 years ago

$25

Brooke Howells

9 years ago

$5

Anonymous

9 years ago

$50

Baturay Ozcelik

Keep up the great work 🙂

9 years ago

TeamMed Uganda

Chloe Higgins

Helen Brown