Uganda: No specialised care for new borns at Mulago Women Hospital

 

A lack of specialists at the Mulago Specialised Women and Neonatal Hospital has seen new borns and pre-mature babies moved to other facilities which exposes them to serious health risks.

The Acting Executive Director of the hospital, Dr Sam Ononge revealed that the facility cannot provide specialised care to over half of the babies admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).  

Enonge who appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (Central Government) on Tuesday, 17 March 2026 added that these pre-mature babies require specialised attention that the facility cannot offer, forcing them to seek care at Mengo and Nsambya Hospitals. 

“Forty-five percent of our babies who are admitted in the NICU are pre-terms, less than 32 weeks and they require to be checked in their eyes. We don’t have a specialist doctor to check these babies’ eyes,” he said. 

He warned that the situation puts the babies at risk of long-term complications.

“The danger is that the baby may survive but later become blind which is a disability,” he said adding that, ‘the babies sometimes get exposed to cold and infections during transfers’.

The absence of key specialists has also forced the hospital to refer new-borns requiring surgery to the Mulago National Referral Hospital, a process Dr Ononge described as equally risky.

Looking ahead, the hospital plans to establish a paediatric centre and expand its In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) services. 

Dr Enonge said the facility has already delivered IVF babies and will start accepting donors to support the programme.

Ononge added that the staffing in the intensive care unit is low with a few nurses handling more patients than recommended.

“As we stand now, we are like one nurse to six babies which is unbearable. The staff are getting burnt out and you can easily make mistakes when providing services,” he added.

Dr Ononge urged Members of Parliament to push for an increase in staffing levels to at least 60 per cent.

The Committee Deputy Chairperson, Hon. Gorreth Namugga called for full funding of the hospital and prioritisation of specialists saying, ‘if government can provide finances to other sectors, the women’s facility should be a priority’.

Namugga also cautioned against completely waiving fees for patients who cannot afford care.

“Let it be subsidised but do not completely waive it because it can be misused,” she said.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.