Mulago Specialised Women and Neonatal Hospital is seeking an additional Shs4 billion in funding to recruit 86 specialists necessary for fully operationalizing its seven idle theatres.
The appeal was made by the hospital’s Executive Director, Dr. Evelyn Nabunya, while presenting the facility’s 2025/26 budget to Parliament’s Health Committee.
Dr. Nabunya emphasised the urgent need for super-specialists in anaesthesia and intensive care, noting that the hospital’s neonatal unit is severely understaffed.
Currently, one nurse is attending to 10 babies, far exceeding the recommended ratio of one nurse per one or two infants.
The additional funding would help ease the burden on the overstretched medical staff and ensure critical services are adequately provided.
Despite staffing challenges, Mulago Women’s Hospital continues to make significant strides in neonatal care. Dr. Nabunya shared a remarkable success story, revealing that the hospital’s smallest premature baby, born at just 24 weeks and weighing only 500 grammes, has not only survived but is now two and a half years old and has started nursery school.
In another ongoing case, the hospital is closely monitoring a baby born weighing just 80 grammes, with high hopes that the child will celebrate her first birthday later this year.
Dr. Nabunya also informed Parliament that the hospital had successfully launched in vitro fertilisation (IVF) services, a long-awaited milestone in Uganda’s maternal healthcare sector.
“We now have five pregnancies resulting from IVF, including one twin pregnancy. The first pregnancy is already in the third trimester, and we are cautiously managing these cases to ensure successful deliveries before fully rolling out the service to the public,” she stated.
Officially opened in 2018, Mulago Specialised Women and Neonatal Hospital was established to provide advanced maternal and neonatal care, helping to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates in Uganda.
The facility, located within the Mulago National Referral Hospital complex, was built with funding from the Ugandan government and the Islamic Development Bank.
Equipped with state-of-the-art medical technology, the hospital offers services such as high-risk pregnancy management, neonatal intensive care, gynaecological surgeries, and IVF.
Dr. Nabunya reaffirmed the hospital’s commitment to delivering world-class maternal healthcare locally, reducing the need for Ugandans to seek specialised treatment abroad.
She expressed optimism that with adequate funding, the facility would enhance its capacity and provide even better services to mothers and newborns across the country.
