Ongoing electricity disruptions across Uganda are placing critical health services under strain, with doctors at Masaka Regional Referral Hospital warning that premature babies in the neonatal unit are facing life-threatening risks due to unstable power supply.
The hospital receives between 40 and 50 premature babies daily, a figure health officials describe as alarmingly high and increasingly difficult to manage under current conditions.
Dr Mary Nyantaro, a consultant paediatrician and deputy director of the hospital, said the situation in the neonatal ward has become dire because life-saving care depends heavily on uninterrupted electricity.
“Premature babies require constant oxygen and warmth to survive, and both depend entirely on electricity,” Dr Nyantaro said. “Frequent power outages put their lives at immediate risk.”
She stressed that referral hospitals require dedicated and reliable power lines to ensure continuous care.
“Facilities like ours need stable electricity if we are to save lives. These interruptions are unacceptable in a critical care setting,” she said.
The rainy season has further worsened the situation, bringing colder temperatures and more frequent outages.
Health workers say this increases vulnerability among newborns, as essential equipment such as incubators and oxygen concentrators becomes unreliable during power cuts.
Nalubega Zuhura, deputy in charge of the neonatal ward, said the unit is also grappling with structural and resource constraints beyond electricity challenges.
“We are dealing with limited space, inadequate equipment, and frequent shortages of essential medicines,” she said. “At times, one doctor is responsible for more than 30 babies, which is extremely risky.”
Hospital administrators also attribute the rising number of premature births partly to gaps in antenatal care services.
“We continue to see more premature deliveries, often because expectant mothers are not adhering to recommended antenatal guidelines,” Dr Nyantaro noted.
Meanwhile, mothers of premature babies say shortages of essential medicines in government facilities are worsening an already difficult situation, forcing them to seek costly alternatives outside the hospital.
Health officials are now calling for urgent government intervention to stabilise power supply and strengthen neonatal care services, warning that without immediate action, more newborn lives could be lost.