MagnusMedi, a global medical value travel facilitator, headquartered in Mumbai, India and in Uganda, in association with Kokilaben Dhirubai Ambani Hospital, one of India’s top 10 hospitals and le Mémorial Hospital in Uganda, have organised a 2-day free Health Camp focusing on Pediatric Cardiology, Cancer and Orthopedics.
The camp, according to Judith Komuhangi Sheenah, the MagnusMedia Uganda, Country Manager, “brings together medical specialists from India and Uganda, who will carry out Free Consultations on all types of cancer, heart problems for children as well as bone, muscles and spine related conditions and complaints.”
The Indian delegation of Doctors will be led by Dr. Suresh Rao, a renowned cardiologist and Director, Children’s Heart Centre and Consultant, Pediatric & Congenital Heart Surgeon at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital & Medical Research Institute- Mumbai.
Dr. Rao who will be in Kampala for one day only, is a former President, Indian Association of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons (2015-16) as well as a former President, Paediatric Cardiac Society of India (2009-11).
He is a life member of the Indian Associations of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons as well as a Life Member, Pediatric Cardiac Society of India and a Member, European Association of Cardiothoracic Surgeons.
Other doctors are Dr. Imran Nisar Shaikh a Consultant in Medical Oncology and Dr Abhijit Pawar an Orthopedics, & Advanced Spine Surgeon.
“Our choice of doctors was informed by the level of need in the country, because according to the World Health Organization – Non communicable Diseases (NCD) Country Profiles, 2018; 33% of all deaths in Uganda are caused by Non Communicable Diseases while 13% is due to accident related injuries. Of the NCD related deaths 10% is due to cardio-vascular diseases and 9% is due to cancers,” said Ms Komuhangi.
“Patients who have been diagnosed and are undergoing treatment for any of the above cases and require a second expert opinion and or require information about affordable advanced treatment options in India.”
According to Mr. Mihir Vora, Founder & CEO of MagnusMedi the medical camp is targeted at serving.
“Our doctors will also examine and offer free consultation to those that have been treatment before but are in need of expert reviews. All participants are requested to carry their previous personal medical files for reference.” he said.
The camp will take place from 15th to 16th November 2018 between 8:30am- 5:30pm at the Le Memorial Hospital, off the Munyonyo-Kajjansi portion of the Entebbe Expressway.
The first camp, organised last year provided free consultation to over 225 patients- with different types of cancers and gynaecological conditions such as fibroids, sexual dysfunctions, STDs, infertility and fistula.
Early testing/diagnosis increases chances of healing
Komuhangi said while Uganda had developed significant skills in the management of other communicable diseases, there were still significant bottlenecks such as cost, access to technology and limited numbers of experts that are hindering early and accurate detection, treatment and or management of some the above major NCDS
“Like in all other diseases, the chances of treatment and recovery rely on early and accurate diagnosis. The MagnusMedi health camps offer Ugandans, especially those who can’t either afford or can’t access quality diagnostics because of limited facilities,” she said.
Komuhangi, who is a Stage 3 cancer survivor herself said that, most of the killer NCDs do not present any visible symptoms, until it is too late, making regular testing, perhaps, the most effective chance of survival.
“For example, as a result of limited awareness and low levels of early screening, 80% of the women who present with cervical cancer at the Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI), have advanced stages of the disease, according to Dr. Jackson Orem, the Executive Director of Uganda Cancer Institute in a recent media interview.
Early testing and treatment presents higher chances of recovery for all cancers especially. We believe therefore, that this medical camp, will add on the efforts of other stakeholders in raising awareness about the importance of early testing and access to affordable treatment here in Uganda and in India,” she added.
The case for pediatric cardiology
Of the 1.5 million children born in Uganda annually, at least 15,000 present with heart problems, Dr. Peter Lwabi the deputy director of Uganda Heart Institute (UHI) said in a recent media interview.
According to Pediatric cardiovascular care in Uganda: Current status, challenges, and opportunities for the future, a study by Ugandan Cardiologists, led by Twalib Olega Aliku, from the Uganda Heart Institute and Gulu University’s Faculty of Medicine, of these, 8,300 are Congenital Heart Defects (CHDs), 2,000 of which are severe enough to require cardiac interventions.
While the causes of CHDs in children are not known, according to Dr Lwabi, “infections such as syphilis and measles, which women get while pregnant and can end up affecting the unborn baby, as well as drugs such as pressure and stress relievers, including alcohol.”
CHDs cause the majority of pediatric cardiovascular morbidity (death) in Uganda. Ventricular septal defects (VSDs), commonly known as ‘holes in the heart’ are the most common (26.5%) CHDs.
Other than CHDs, acquired heart disease is the other predominant form of heart disease among children. Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is the most common acquired heart disease among children, accounting for about 45.5% of all acquired heart disease of all cases seen in the UHI, followed by dilated cardiomyopathy (22.4%).
Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a condition in which the heart becomes enlarged and cannot pump blood effectively.
In a recent media article, Dr. Emmy Okello, a consultant cardiologist at the Uganda Heart Institute and General Secretary of the Uganda Heart Association, Rheumatic heart disease, a consequence of rheumatic fever caused by repeated throat infections caused by Group A streptococcus bacteria thrives in this environment has grown significantly, going up from as low as 3.5% to 15% in some parts of the country.
The Dr Olega Aliku study also blamed increasing heart conditions in children on an increasing trend of childhood obesity, especially among the rich and middle-class families in urban areas- largely due to unhealthy dies and lack of exercises.
While the Uganda Heart Institute (UHI) – the only center in the country with diagnostic, interventional, and surgical treatment facilities for children with heart disease and has over time increased its capacity to diagnose and treat most heart ailments, there is only other two facilities that offer accurate echocardiographic examination for children at Gulu Regional Referral Hospital and Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital in the west).
Children from other regions have to find their way to the capital to have a definitive diagnosis.
According to a recent media interview, Dr. John Omangino the Executive director Uganda Heart Institute said that of the estimated 8,000 children who require surgeries, UHI can only offer surgeries to up to 1,000 people per year, leaving a backlog of 7,000.
Why Orthopedics?
The role of Ugandan District Hospital orthopedic units in the care of vulnerable road users: a cross- sectional study, a study by Uganda Orthopedicians led by Dan K. Kisitu from the Department of Surgery, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, musculoskeletal injuries, resulting from road traffic injuries (RTI) are a common cause of death.
The same report also indicated that vulnerable road users comprised 92% of musculoskeletal RTI patients, with 49% pedestrians, 41% motorcyclists, and 2% cyclists.
Vulnerable road users suffer an estimated 68 % of all RTI fatalities in Uganda (WHO 2013) and that Uganda ranks fifth out of 15 sub-Saharan African countries in highest DALYs due to RTI, according to the 2010 Global Burden of Disease study by Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation 2013.
The disability-adjusted life year (DALY) is a measure of overall disease burden, expressed as the number of years lost due to ill-health, disability or early death.
According to Ministry of Works and Transport, 14th Joint Transport Sector Review Report, Uganda has the highest RTI fatalities, at 26 fatalities per 10,000 vehicles in 2017/18.
About MagnusMedi
Magnus Medi is a medical value travel facilitator, based in Mumbai, India. It is India’s first & only accredited company accredited by both the National Accreditation Board of Hospital and Healthcare (NABH) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Magnus Medi has partnered itself with the leading hospitals and doctors all over India, which gives more treatment options to patients.
MagnusMedi has partnerships with nearly all of India’s best Medicare providers who boast of some of the world’s leading specialists in cancer care, urology, ophthalmology, gastroenterology, dentistry, ENT, orthopedic, nephrology, organ transplantation and neurology practices amongst many others.
We have offices in India, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Oman.
About Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital (KDAH)
Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital (KDAH) is Western India’s No1 hospital and one of top 5 hospitals in India with Joint Commission International (JCI) and NABH accreditations. With state-of-the-art infrastructure- 16 stories and 750 beds and cutting-edge technology, we are the only hospital in Mumbai with a Full Time Specialist System (FTSS), ensuring easy availability and access to dedicated specialists exclusively attached to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital. The FTSS model guarantees excellence in delivery of care to very critical patients and after complex interventions or surgeries leading to high success rates matching those of the best hospitals in India and globally.
Le Mémorial Hospital
Le Mémorial Hospital is a 24-hour hospital in Uganda with state of the art infrastructure. Established by visionary leaders and managed by experienced doctors, le Mémorial is committed to world class Medicare programs designed to meet your health care needs. Le memorial has a partnership with MagnusMedi to assist patients who are in need of complex treatment procedures, which might be difficult to handle in Uganda.
