CMA Doctors Meet and Serve on Mission in Southwest Uganda 

By Dr. Ellen Dailor

Catholic physicians Drs. Brian and Robyn Jennings, Peter Meade and Ellen Dailor all arrived at Karoli Lwanga Hospital in Nyakibale, Uganda in May.

Family physicians with an Obstetrics & Gynecology specialty, the Jennings are at the beginning of a three-year assignment with Mission Doctors Association with their four children, ages 8, 6, 4 and 3 months. For the Jennings, this is the hoped for long-term assignment, having served in Ghana (short-term due to the pandemic) and Honduras.

Dr. Meade is an experienced missionary surgeon based in central California who will be serving in Nyakibale for two months, and I am an anesthesiologist at the site for two weeks to consider options for future support of their anesthetists and anesthesia program.

Karoli Lwanga Hospital is part of the Diocese of Kabale and was started by Franciscan Sisters from Breda in the Netherlands in 1963. The sisters saw the lack of health care services needed for the people of the area suffering from malaria and other tropical diseases. To meet the need, the Sisters worked hard to convert an already existing dispensary into a community hospital. And so Nyakibale Hospital came to be, named after Karoli Lwanga the Head of the 22 Catholic Uganda martyrs who were later canonized in 1964.

Starting with only 85 beds, the hospital conducted 350 deliveries in its inaugural year. Today, it has grown to 180 beds and is currently serving as the district hospital and as a referral hospital for the surrounding districts. It employs 170 people, and serves over 40,000 patients per year.

The nearest regional hospital with specialist capability and government-provided care is about two hours away. The hospital serves a catchment area in which it is estimated that 86% of the population lives on less than one dollar per day. The hospital’s revenue consists of patient fees, a small government stipend, and gifts from various private supporters including Africa Mission Healthcare, Friends of Nyakibale (in the Netherlands), and Mission Doctors Association (MDA).

For MDA, this is a renewal of a long relationship that led to one of the first emergency departments in the area 10 years ago with the contributions of Drs. Mark Bisanzo and Bill Walsh.

One of the joys of serving at Karoli Lwanga is the on-site parish serving the professional nursing school and the hospital staff. The parish offers Sunday Mass, daily Mass, and exposition of the Blessed Sacrament every Thursday. Masses are celebrated with the participation of a wonderful student choir, complete with keyboard, (African) drums, and fervent praise.

The work of this Catholic hospital is crucial as is the long term medical services that the Jennings will provide as they support the work being done there. I ask that you pray for the Jennings and all our missionary doctors and their patients. You can follow the Jennings mission trip through their blog.

 Dr. Ellen Dailor is the chair of the Medical Missions Committee for the Catholic Medical Associations.

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