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On the morning of February 28, 2009, Jeninah Komugisha walked into the Angella Domiciliary Clinic in Kashari, Uganda expressing labor pains. She gave the midwives a “healthy baby” voucher and was immediately offered assistance.
The midwife duly attended to Jeninah from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm, when she gave birth to a bouncing, beautiful baby girl named Kate. The birth was a normal delivery and both baby and mother are healthy.
“I am now feeling better and am grateful to the project,” said Jeninah. “There are many more mothers who ordinarily would find it difficult to use such facilities when delivering. They could not benefit because they simple lacked money, they are too poor,” she added.
Jeninah is the first Ugandan woman to have given birth safely, with attention from trained medical professionals, thanks to the GPOBA Reproductive Health Vouchers [3] in Western Uganda project.
This pilot project, which builds on a health voucher scheme developed by Germany’s KfW Entwicklungsbank, was successfully launched [4]in September 2008.
The project finances the diagnosis and treatment of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) for poor Ugandans and fights maternal mortality through provision of vouchers for safe childbirth.
The vouchers include ante-natal and post-natal visits, as well as birth attendance by trained professionals, and provision of caesarean section (where required).
The scheme targets rural and poor peri urban populations living in the areas of approved providers in the greater Mbarara region in western Uganda.
Up to 135,912 people will benefit from GPOBA’s intervention.
For more information please visit the webpages of the KfW Entwicklungsbank's Health Team [5].