Category: Health

Not all adventures are created equal. Ask me – or maybe query a dozen Uganda Christian University (UCU) School of Dentistry students who recently traveled with me by boat to a remote island.

I was among the Uganda Ministry of Heath’s reported 7,500 cases of red eye in three weeks, starting in mid-March.

In 1984, as Boaz Mbagaya reported back to school, he was not at peace.  His expecting mother was ill, and Mbagaya worried for the worse. That very week that the 18-year-old reported to school, he was called back home. His mother and the unborn baby had died. 

In April, Uganda underwent the second phase of a vaccination campaign against yellow fever disease that is spread through a bite from an infected Aedes mosquito, informally known as the “tiger” mosquito because of its black and white markings.

At six months, my mother noticed a peculiar swelling on the lower part of my tiny back. It quickly grew into a huge sac and prompted a rush to the hospital. Following tests, the doctor determined I had spina bifida, a birth defect in which the spine and spinal cord don’t form properly.  The National Institutes of Health reports up to 10 of every 1,000 babies have it. An estimated 1,400 children are born with spina bifida annually in Uganda.

The woman also had an open ulcer. Although this was Nantambi’s first time working in a hospital, she did her best to help the woman. By evening, the patient’s condition had improved.