Hundreds of locals from Ntinda and its environs on Saturday thronged Unicaf University Uganda offices to receive free medical services during a medical camp organized by the university and its partners.
During the free medical camp organized by the university together with AAR healthcare Ntinda branch, Break Free Mental Healthcare and Rehabilitation Centre and Prime Care Dental Clinic among others, members of the public were able to get HIV testing and counselling services, blood sugar testing, dental checkup, urinalysis tests, mental health checks and counselling among others.
“We decided to organize this medical camp to provide services nearer the people and free of charge,” said Moses Turyagumanawe, the Marketing Manager at Unicaf University Uganda
Turyagumanawe added that the health camp provided an opportunity for those who have long wanted to visit hospitals but were constrained by finances.
“We’ve seen people that have for long been thinking of visiting the hospital but are not been able in terms of money. We’ve seen these people come here to access some of these free services, which would rather be very expensive and they ignore them, not because they don’t want but because they can’t afford.”
Dr. Samuel kakwenzire, the Ntinda AAR Healthcare manager said they decided to partner with Unicaf University to extend expensive healthcare services to the community for free.
“Services are usually very costly for people .So it is usually very good when there is an activity that involves the community to bring the vital services next to the people,” Kakwenzire said.
Kakwenzire noted that they didn’t only provide people treatment, but also to availed them with the vital information about health and prevention.
“People don’t go to hospitals for checkup because sometimes it is not that they don’t want but they have limitations like finances but also because of not having very much information about your particular services. When you go to their communities and activate and tell them what you are offering, that way, you are bringing information to the people. The decisions people make depend on the information that they access.”
“We are not only here giving medicine and testing people but we are also giving information about health and prevention, because prevention is the best approach of managing life.”