Ugandan government opened a bank for babies born prematurely and their mothers who faces problems while feeding them. The reason could be that they are dealing with a low milk supply. This bank was established in Uganda to help babies to survive.
According to Janat, a local resident of Uganda, “She is donating and storing milk is essential to save babies’ lives. It is also helpful for babies whose mothers died during their birth or sometime later.
She further said that she has been donating her milk since June 2021, when she gave birth. With the help of this bank, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Nsambya Hospital don’t need to worry about the health of premature babies who need it to survive.
Milk of the donors can be stored safely, and its maximum uses up to six months.
The idea of opening a breast bank generates from the people’s minds whose babies are not theirs or when their babies are premature—before that, these kinds of banks never existed in Africa.
As per one of the local donors, “I am very excited about this startup, and I feel very proud that I am capable enough to save babies lives. My milk can help thousands of those mothers who are helpless that they have premature delivery and due to this they cant able to feed their babies, so I save a life.”
According to the World Health Organisation reports, one in ten babies is born too early each year. Experts generate this small solution for the local people; the essential postnatal need remains human breast milk.
They are provided milk without taking any penny, but they mainly focus on those babies who are prematurely born and sometimes give the milk to babies whose mothers died.
This project is already tied up with numerous hospitals in Kampala, and various specialized nurses work at the bank run by the paediatrician and neonatologist Dr Victora Nakibuuka.
Many mothers respond positively about donating and using breast milk. This milk is tested for bacteria before pasteurization.
The bank can hold up to 250 litres of milk, maximum capacity.
