“NO MORE EXCUSES”: Mubende Regional Leaders Target Zero Newborn Deaths, Propose Pooled Ambulance Fleet to Save Mothers

What the report says

Watchdog Uganda reported that leaders in the Mubende Region used the launch of the Emergency Referral Systems for Maternal and Newborn Health Project to demand a tougher response to maternal and newborn deaths. The meeting was held at Joyce Hotel in Mubende and brought together officials from Kassanda, Kiboga, Kyankwanzi, Mityana and Mubende, with Mubende Regional Referral Hospital, the Ministry of Health and the Clinton Health Access Initiative involved in the event.

According to the report, regional leaders set a goal of ending preventable newborn deaths and reducing maternal deaths to below five across the five districts. Dr. Batiibwe Emmanuel Paul, senior executive consultant at Mubende Regional Referral Hospital, said deaths linked to avoidable delays or failures in care should not be treated as routine, and called for detailed reviews to identify where responsibility lies.

A major proposal came from the Kassanda Deputy Resident District Commissioner, who urged the region to copy Greater Masaka’s centralized ambulance system. Under the suggested “one-pool” approach, ambulances and emergency resources would be coordinated through a shared command system, with pooled fuel and funding, GPS tracking and dispatch based on the nearest available vehicle rather than district boundaries.

The publisher cited technical data showing Mubende’s institutional maternal mortality ratio at 81 deaths per 100,000 deliveries, higher than the national figure of 69.1, with Kiboga at 120.5. The region recorded 48 maternal deaths in FY2024/2025, led by postpartum haemorrhage and hypertensive disorders. Watchdog Uganda also reported that death audit panels across 244 health facilities will document the roles and response times of doctors, facility heads, nurses, midwives and ambulance operators.