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Bill Gates heaps praise on Ugandan midwife
Ms Eva Nangalo, a midwife at Nakaseke General Hospital. PHOTO | COURTESY
What you need to know:
- Mr Gates, who co-founded Microsoft Corporation and has previously been the world’s richest man, said Ms Eva Nangalo, a midwife at Nakaseke General Hospital, had made sacrifices, including sleeping for only a couple of hours as opposed to the recommended eight, to ensure women and their babies are safe during childbirth.
Mr Bill Gates added a Ugandan midwife to his ‘Heroes in the Field’ list, which recognises exceptional individuals around the world doing inspirational work despite serious challenges, praising the health worker for working tirelessly over the past 23 years to make hospital deliveries in Uganda safer.
Mr Gates, who co-founded Microsoft Corporation and has previously been the world’s richest man, said Ms Eva Nangalo, a midwife at Nakaseke General Hospital, had made sacrifices, including sleeping for only a couple of hours as opposed to the recommended eight, to ensure women and their babies are safe during childbirth.
“When the power goes out in the middle of a delivery — which happens often — she uses the flashlight on her cellphone to get the job done. She even keeps her hair short rather than style it the way she’d prefer [in order to do her job well],” Mr Gates wrote on GatesNotes, a blog where he shares his reflections on issues related to global health and climate change.
The blog, published on LinkedIn where Mr Gates has 36 million followers, was complemented by a video in which Ms Nangalo, 45, is seen waking up in the morning and saying: “I rarely sleep because I get up at night, and during the day I have to go to the farm and balance the marriage and the home.”
“In 24 hours I can sleep for one or two hours, and that has been my life for the last 23 years. I was born to be a midwife, and it is what is in my DNA. That’s what I am,” said Ms Nangalo.
In the video, the Chief Administrative Officer of Nakaseke District, Sarah Nakalungi, said Ms Nangalo is making Uganda, Nakaseke and Africa proud — and several registered nurses she has mentored said they are indebted to her.
In a telephone interview, Ms Nangalo said there was nothing special about getting publicity for her work. “I just feel OK and normal. The reason is that many people have written about me. In 2018, President Museveni gave me a gold medal. I just feel I deserve it. It is not news to me.”
To help her do better, she said, the government and philanthropists interested in health should invest in equipment and drugs that enable midwives to keep mothers and babies safe.
“When you deliver a mother and she bleeds a lot and everywhere you turn there is no blood, there is no oxygen, power is off, there is nothing you can do. At the end of the day, a mother dies because of lack of oxygen. By the time I lose a mother, I will have done everything [to save her life],” she said.
Midwives have been blamed for deaths they are not responsible for, she said, adding that they need to be given days off and counselling.
