Risdel Kasasira
7 August 2007
INADEQUATE incubation services for premature babies in the country have forced the government to adopt use of charcoal stoves commonly known as sigili as an alternative source of warmth to the babies.
The Director General of Health Services, Dr Sam Zaramba, said due to scarcity of health services in the country, mothers should devise "appropriate technologies to save lives".
Dr Zaramba, who was appearing before the Parliamentary Committee on Social Services on Friday said, "Charcoal stoves can provide temperatures like those of a mother's womb. So where you don't have incubators, mothers can use sigili."
Premature births in Uganda are common in rural areas where pregnant mothers are exposed to diseases like malaria.
Dr Ronald Muheirwe of Star Clinic in Bukoto said premature births can also be caused by poor feeding. He said the government should take campaigns like the use of mosquito nets and good feeding for pregnant mothers to rural areas where the problem is common.
Dr Zaramba's advice caused mixed reactions among the MPs, with some saying this shows how the government has failed to deliver services to its people.
Ngora County MP who is also a medical doctor Francis Epetait said exposing premature babies to charcoal stove heat is dangerous because the heat is hard to regulate. "This is a crude and desperate method. How do you control heat from the sigili!" he wondered. "The babies will end up getting burnt."
However, Kinkizi East MP Chris Baryomunsi said premature babies face a problem of low temperature which can cause death. He said instead of leaving the child to die in the absence of incubators, the sigili should be used to save lives.
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