Watch the video to hear Dr. Yvonne Vaucher and Dr. Margaret Nakeeto share their work in neonatal care in Uganda.
In the twenty-three years since Dr. Yvonne Vaucher first traveled to Uganda on an HVO assignment, she and Dr. Margaret Nakakeeto have been revolutionizing neonatal care in hospitals around the country through their collaborative efforts. After receiving training from Dr. Vaucher, Dr. Nakakeeto began training teams of her own, first improving care for babies in her own hospital and then in hospitals in other regions. Last year, the two toured seven hospitals in the West Nile region where Dr. Nakakeeto’s teams have been training local health workers on providing IV fluids, antibiotics, oxygen, continuous positive airway pressure, and on how to create neonatal care units.
A critical issue Dr. Vaucher and Dr. Nakakeeto recognized was a lack of awareness of the need for follow-up with pre-term babies. During their tour, they gave interactive talks in each neonatal care unit.
“These babies go home and a lot of them die because there is no appropriate follow up or medication. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was 25 or 30 percent. Providers didn’t realize they need to follow up with these babies for longer than a few weeks, but you need to follow up for a year. One approach is to go and teach and leave, but then what? Margaret’s approach is always that you need to mentor. Her teams set up a WhatsApp group for the district so they can talk to one another. Then the teams go back and mentor local providers for at least six months and are always available for consultation and questions.”
–Dr. Yvonne Vaucher
Dr. Nakakeeto has expanded her training model to other countries in Africa, including Sudan, Somalia, and Ethiopia while Dr. Vaucher returns to HVO’s project in Kampala annually to provide training, mentorship, and support to new generations of neonatal care specialists.
“I was there when Margaret was first assigned as the director of the neonatal care unit she had no experience and it wasn’t what she expected to do. I mentored her the first seven years, but now she mentors me. All this has grown out of HVO.”
–Dr. Yvonne Vaucher