Project Overview

Good health and well-being for all people are high on the global agenda as reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030. All people, irrespective of their age should have healthy lives and good general well-being. Unfortunately, this expectation isn’t true for all people and nations. Some countries health systems haven’t done much to adequately support their population to live healthily. Subsequently, some people are too poor to afford the available health services, yet national health insurance does not exist in many countries. Uganda inclusive. Evidence shows that 6 million children globally die every year before their fifth birthday (SDGs 2030). While about 2.9 million deaths in low-income countries are due to a lack of healthcare services, 5.7 million deaths are due to accessing poor healthcare services (The Lancet Global Health, 2018). Additionally, while about 8 million children globally are born with major birth defects annually, 3.3 million of those below 5 years die annually. Many of the surviving children with birth defects become physically and mentally disabled for life (Munpe-Mwanja et al., 2019). Low-resource countries take a significant portion of these statistics. While these children with disabilities suffer violence and abuse with no place for hope, many adults , and children, go through rape and abuse but with no readily available support. When SDG three (good health and well-being for all at all ages) is not met, the probability of not meeting many other SDGs like number one (End poverty in all its forms everywhere) is very high. In Uganda, 41% of people live in poverty, and over half of Uganda’s population is below 15 years of age (Opportunity International, 2023). The poor people are characterized by hunger, lack of shelter, being sick and unable to visit a doctor, unable to go to school, illiterate, joblessness, fear for the future, losing a child due to illness brought about by unclean water, powerless, as well as a lack of representation and freedom (World Bank, 2005). Given the fact that the sick and disabled people are highly susceptible to poverty just as poor people are highly susceptible to disease and disability, there is a need for more poverty eradication and disease/harm/disability mitigation efforts in many parts of Uganda. The aim of this project, therefore, is to support Uganda’s health system in meeting the 2030 agenda for sustainable development by establishing a medical center that will offer the ideal healthcare and disability-related services to all children and some adults, including the critically injured or ill. .A training center will be offered to train in the skills needed to meet these needs. The proposed medical center shall be purely Private Not for Profit (PNFP). The patients shall be required to contribute towards the effective running of the medical center activities that will largely be subsidized by local and international resource mobilization. This medical center shall be under the Refining Fire Ministry found in Eastern Uganda which is currently reaching out to Ugandans through evangelism. This ministry is fully registered as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) with the government of Uganda (Registration No. 3874) under the Non-Governmental Organizations Registration Statute, 1989.

Executive Summary

The Ugandan Ministry of Health (MOH) has made huge strides in supporting the health of Ugandans. However, many Ugandans still have unmet needs for health service provision and disability management. Many parents cannot afford healthcare and only seek it when it is critical. In most of the country, emergency cases are poorly handled, or not handled at all, because of limited knowledge, skills, and equipment. Disasters and motor vehicle accidents are common and yet, there are few, if any, services available with the training, skills, and equipment to handle the serious injuries that occur. Many children are born with disabilities and their families are not able to find appropriate and affordable support while raising them up. There are no services available in Eastern Uganda to help these children and their families. Many of these children are neglected due to the assumed burden they bring to their families. There is also a wide spread belief that these children carry demons and they can be thrown out in the street at a very young age. There is no training to teach the parents. Additionally, many victims of rape and violence exist but there is little to no support provided; hence a need for a facility to address the physical and emotional trauma caused by these acts of violence. To address these observed gaps, Refining Fire's Discovery Medical Center (DMC) is proposed. This medical center shall be an upgrade from a previous clinic that operated on a small scale, and it will be offering pediatric, emergency, crisis assistance, and disability services to Budaka and Mbale Districts, as well as, surrounding Districts. The purpose of establishing the DMC is to bring excellent health services closer to the people to tremendously reduce the current mortality and morbidity rates from poorly managed or hardly treated patients. Under three arms, the DMC will have The Discovery Children’s Hospital and clinic, the Discovery Kids Farm and Discovery Hope Center, and a skills Training Center. These will attend to all pediatric cases up to 13 years old, victims of rape and violence of any age, children with disabilities and/or autism and train staff in needed skills for treating emergencies of all ages related to cardiac and all forms of trauma and serious illness. USD of $9,610,365 is needed to open and fully establish Refining Fire's Discovery Medical Center.

Funds Required