You are probably aware singer Emeli Sande, the voice behind “Next to me”, “Beneath your beautiful” hit songs that ruled the charts here. She came as an ambassador and shared her heartbreaking tale of children suffering from preventable diseases in Tororo hospital.
“I was in Uganda to see how money raised through Red Nose Day is being spent to reduce preventable diseases, such as pneumonia, through vaccinations.There was so much happening in one room; children lying two or three to a bed, anxious mothers watching over their seriously ill babies, all made worse by the obvious and severe lack of facilities”, she wrote.
She noticed the acute lack of facilities.
“In one bed, there was a little girl in a coma with access to hardly any oxygen, next to her was a very ill two month old, and another bed with two children on it.It was beyond anything I could have imagined. Sister Betty, who was showing me round, said this was a typical sight”, she continued.
She the shared her encounter with one patient.
“We met two-month-old Solomon, who was plagued by pneumonia and whooping cough.He was so little and vulnerable, and his mum Norah said he hadn’t had the pneumococcal vaccine, which protects children from the most serious strains of pneumonia.Sister Betty explained that sometimes the health clinics may be out of stock – she was so matter-of-fact, as though this is something that happens often.Babies with pneumonia have difficulty breathing and are weak and lethargic”, she wrote for the Sun.
“Those from poor families are particularly susceptible, as they don’t get enough nutrition so their bodies aren’t strong enough to fight it. Sister Betty said Solomon’s condition would last for around 90 days, longer than the life he’s already lived.His mum just looked so desperate”, she stated.
She was then overcome by guilt and urge to make a difference.
“I’m guilty of taking the facilities we have [in the UK] for granted; seeing what it’s like for people who don’t have the same access really brought it home.These kids have preventable diseases yet they are suffering so much.This is a hospital that is completely under-resourced, buckling under the pressure of caring for so many children – and the most frustrating thing is that they don’t need to be there”, she concluded.