Standbic Bank says the month of October is for “love” with a call for them to install street lights in Lira City.
By Ceaser Okello
Lira – October 23, 2022: Lira Regional Referral Hospital [RRH] is the only referral health facility serving over 20 districts in and outside Lango sub-region.
Its officials say the facility is currently overwhelmed by the number of expectant mothers who visit the hospital daily for deliveries.
The Lango sub-region is estimated to have a population of 3 million people. Lira City’s daytime population is projected at 500,000.
Over 500 to 600 deliveries are registered at Lira Regional Referral Hospital, according to Dr James Okello, the head of the gynecology department.
Dr Okello revealed this on Friday while receiving an assortment of goods, including health equipment donated by Stanbic Bank, Lira Branch.
The donation is to facilitate and supplement the delivery in the department.
“The support will go a long way in reducing the post-maternal rate and death of newly born babies,” the head of the facility added.
According to him, the gynecology department at Lira RRH currently delivers 600 newborn babies with 8 going through operation daily.
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The above, he said is overwhelming yet the capacity is not enough and above all the staff at the department sometimes cannot manage the number.
Among the items given by Stanbic Bank includes 3 hospital beds with mattresses, a phototherapy machine, Theralizser and 100 mama kits. The whole donations are worth shs15million only.
The branch manager of Stanbic Bank for Lira, Sunny Mucwampaka, said the month of October is a special month for Stanbic Bank, adding that it has been nicknamed Love Month.
Mucwampaka said that Lira Regional Referral Hospital is one of their partners was one of the reasons they chose to give them medical assortments.
She stated that they realized the need to give back to the community and that is the only way they can strengthen their relationship with the hospital that serves the bigger population.
Stating that “no one has become poor for giving,” he added, “giving back to the community is the way to go”.
Meanwhile, Benard Ogwal, the Regional Manager for Stanbic Bank stated that giving back to the community is part of them. “Stanbic Bank is giving the same to all the Regional Referral Hospitals countrywide.”
According to Ogwal, Stanbic Bank earmarked shs300 million for buying medical equipment.
He also said that part of giving back to the community is by reducing the lending [interest] rate to 15.5%. This he said is targeting mainly mothers.
Ogwal is happy that women, when given loans use them for the right purpose, unlike men who borrow money from the bank to add wives.
Kitabwire Damoni is the Board Director for Stanbic Bank Group in Uganda. He said Stanbic Bank’s investment in the health sector is to save the lives of Ugandan citizens mostly mothers.
Kitabwire is not happy with the current statistics showing the high number of women still dying during birth, adding that there is still a lot to be done.
He said Stanbic Bank will continue investing in the health sector but t to reduce maternal and post-maternal deaths; they need a collective responsibility because the lives of mothers matter.
A councillor representing Older Persons who represented Lira City Mayor at the event, JP Ocare Dyangcal appealed to Stanbic Bank to extend their helping hands to the City by providing street lights.