Lukole Health Centre, bringing quality health services closer to the people of Kasulo, Ngara, Tanzania
“Had this hospital (Lukole Health Centre) not been here with required facilities, I feel my unborn baby and I would not have made it alive,” says Imani Ngw’ale. Imani, 34 is from Benako Village, Kasulo Division of Ngara, Northern Tanzania. At the time of this interview (February 1st, 2024), Imani had just given birth to a pre-term baby (baby born before the 37th week of pregnancy). Imani has other health conditions. At that time, her baby was in an incubator, under the care of nurses at the newly equipped neonatal nursery. We met Imani inside the newly equipped maternity room at the Lukole Health Centre, in Kasulo Division. Imani was at the facility with her mother, Editha Ngw’ale. Editha, explained that previously (in 2018) her daughter delivered in the neighboring country, Burundi, due to lack of facilities at her nearest health facilities. She says because of that, the family spent over TZSh one million (USD 400) and stayed in Burundi for 14 days.
The Local Area Development Projects (LADP) component, operating under NELSAP (80MW Regional Rusumo Hydroelectric Project), constructed / rehabilitated Lukole Health Centre as part of extended benefits of the power project to local communities. Lukole, is one of eight health facilities that NELSAP has constructed or rehabilitated.
“Before NELSAP support, which begun in 2020, we could only take in about 700 outpatient visits per month, however presently (January 2024) we are handling about 1,300 outpatients. We began to offer surgery services in October 2023 and from that time to present we have successfully done one hundred (100) surgeries. Further, we previously did not have a laboratory to do microbiology culture tests but now we have an equipped one and through it we even offer kidney tests and blood transfusion services,” explains Dr. Fredrick. He adds that due to availability of boarding facilities, admissions for hospitalization have increased from 55 per month in 2020 to 350 per month in 2024.
Ms. Sundi Fede is the Assistant Medical Officer in charge of Lukole Health Centre. She manages the delivery unit, which has a neonatal Intensive Care Unit with two incubators. She says that out of one hundred (100) surgeries done at the facility so far, seventy have been related to safe delivery of babies and all went smoothly for both mothers and babies.
Councilor Yusuf Katulla, the elected representative of Kasulo Ward says that through NELSAP support, health services at his ward have improved, and so has supply of electricity. He says that since NELSAP constructed staff houses within Lukole Health Centre, patients to the facility receive services 24 hours a day. The health facility has a total of twenty-nine staff, with twenty paid by the government while the rest are under the hospital board.