On Monday, June 17, 2024, Jinja Regional Referral Hospital (JRRH) and Uganda Heart Institute (UHI), began a five-day cardiac surgery procedure at the Jinja Hospital.

Dr. Emmanuel Tenywa, a cardiologist at the hospital, identified eleven children between the ages of seven months and five years who will undergo the first operation of its sort outside of Kampala. The youngsters were identified months prior.

Dr. Emmanuel Tenywa performs echocardiograms, or “echo” scans, as part of his training and employment to check for congenital heart problems in babies. This means that a small probe is used to emit high-frequency sound waves, which reverberate off various body regions of the patient being examined and produce echoes.

The Uganda Health Institute (UHI) Executive Director, Dr. John Omagino O.O. John, put together a team of twenty Specialists to collaborate closely with another group of experts from Jinja Regional Referral Hospital for the historic medical activity that will conclude on Friday, June 21, 2024, according to Dr. Alfred Yayi, Hospital Director  Jinja Regional Referral Hospital.

“These are newborns with congenital cardiac defects, such as myocardial infarctions, necessitating the expertise of board-certified cardiologists in conjunction with local support personnel who have already initiated the surgical procedure,” said Dr. Alfred Yayi.

Numerous kids in Busoga need cardiologists’ services, but many more suffer at home as their parents hold out hope that one day a “miracle” would occur and their kids will receive care.

A UHI group under the direction of Dr. John Omagino On Wednesday, June 19, 2024, in the afternoon, O.O. John and Dr. Alfred Yayi of JRRH will jointly host a press conference in the Administration Boardroom to provide the general public with an update on the camp.

Dr. Alfred Yayi highlights that the exercise is free and that it aligns with the goals of Jinja Regional Referral Hospital, which is to serve as a regional center of excellence for general and specialized healthcare services, hence improving the well-being of the people living in Busoga.

The goal is to make quality general and specialized health services more accessible to everyone in the Busoga subregion. This is in line with their mandate to offer both general and specialized healthcare, as well as to conduct research, provide training, and support supervision to other health facilities in the area to enhance the quality of care.