Uganda

Buvuma Hospital is located on the Main Island of Buvuma Island, which consists of 52 Islands and is located a few kilometres off the northern shores of Lake Victoria, Uganda in the Napoleon Gulf.  Buvuma is approximately 25 km (16 mi), by water, south of the major city of Jinja, and around 90 km (56 mi) southeast of the national capital city of Kampala. As the ferry to Buvuma Island has a fixed schedule, it takes about 6 hours from Kampala to reach the hospital.

The Hospital has 2 doctors, 15 nurses, 4 laboratory technicians, 1 pharmacist (dispenser), 7 other medical personnel, and 2 support staff.

Buvuma Hospital is the only public Health Facility without a power grid. The hospital is equipped with PV panels on several buildings, which are not sufficient for all the hospital’s equipment. Some equipment (2 large refrigerators of about 200 L each) are unusable due to the low output of the PV panels. There is one PV system for the laboratory, another for the maternity ward, another unit for the OPD building. The operating theatre is equipped with a PV system and there is also a diesel generator. The PV systems have capacities in the range of 0.5 – 2.0 kW. Since the Hospital lacks an electrician, it was not possible to estimate the actual needs.

The hospital obtains its water supply from a utility company at a subsidised price (half the price). The water is pumped from an aquifer and treated before it is distributed. The water consumption is about 90 cubic metres/month. De-ironed water is provided by the Government’s National Medical Stores.