Ugandan aid trip for UHG nurse

A nurse based at University Hospital Galway has travelled to Uganda to help with children with HIV.

Michelle Conroy, a nurse in UHG and originally from Headford, is based at a specialist paediatric HIV and Primary Health Centre, which has been set up by the Irish charity Nurture Africa.

Ms Conroy has spent several weeks working at the only health centre north of Kampala in Uganda that is providing specialist paediatric HIV treatment. It has the capacity to provide life-saving primary health and HIV services to 20,000 of the most vulnerable AIDS orphans and HIV-infected children in Uganda, at a cost of approximately €6 a treatment.

“There are currently 105,000 HIV-infected children in Uganda. Only 27 per cent of these children are currently accessing life-saving anti-retroviral medication, and without this medication 80 per cent of them will die before their fifth birthday,” said a spokesperson for Nurture Africa.

The specialist paediatric HIV Primary Health Centre is being run by 16 Ugandan staff, with short-term support from Irish nurses.

Irish Aid has provided €30,000 for the running costs, while the Communications Workers Union has provided €50,000 towards the construction of the clinic and Dublin City Council has contributed €13,000 for a water harvesting system, water tanks and plumbing.

To make a donation, visit www.nurtureafrica.ie.