The children's hospital of Entebbe

Until 2021, Uganda had only four paediatric surgeons and just a few children’s hospital beds for the entire country. In 2020, the mortality rate for children under five was 43 per 1,000 births, compared to three per 1,000 in the UK.

The Children’s Hospital of Entebbe, funded by the Italian NGO Emergency and designed by world famous architect Renzo Piano, was established in 2021 to change the situation.

Ugandan journalist Lulu Jemimah visits the hospital, on the shore of Lake Victoria, to ask whether one hospital is enough to reset the future for Uganda's children. Lulu meets children and young people who would have died, or had their lives severely limited, without intervention at this hospital

The hospital also aims to be a pathfinder, to demonstrate to governments across Africa how a future with better healthcare is possible. The plan is for Emergency to eventually hand over the hospital to Ugandan staff and authorities, but taking over the running costs will be a huge challenge for the government.

Presenter: Lulu Jemimah
Producer: Amanda Hargreaves
Sound engineer: Joel Cox
A Bespoken Media production for BBC World Service

(Photo: The Children's Hospital of Entebbe - child post-op check-up. Credit: Laura Salvinelli/Emergency)