Christmas cheer reaches patients at Jinja, Nalufenya hospitals

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Despite spending the Christmas season in hospital wards, hundreds of patients at Jinja Regional Referral Hospital received a boost after well-wishers reached out to help them enjoy the festivities.

The group was led by Hellen Namutamba, the Busoga kingdom minister for tourism, who, on December 27, 2025, visited the facility accompanied by Miss Busoga Tourism queens from the kingdom’s eleven chiefdoms, among others.

Namutamba, together with the beauty queens, handed over gift hampers, food, soft drinks, T-shirts and soap to patients in the maternity ward, Ward Seven and other sections of the hospital, as well as children admitted at Nalufenya, the children’s wing of Jinja Hospital.

She said the initiative began in Bugiri and Iganga hospitals, where they reached more than 600 patients and medical staff. At Nalufenya, the team donated items to over 100 children, while up to 450 patients benefited at Jinja Hospital.

Namutamba explained that the donation drive was made possible with support from the First Deputy Prime Minister and East African affairs minister Rebecca Kadaga, who also serves as the chief campaign mobiliser for President Yoweri Museveni in the Busoga sub-region.

Among the beneficiaries at Nalufenya was Brenda Namatovu, whose malnourished triplets were admitted to the nutrition ward.

Namatovu, a resident of Najjembe in Buikwe district and a mother of five, said her situation became difficult after her husband abandoned her following childbirth, leaving her without a source of income to care for the children.

Fatuma Tibiwabya, a resident of Kakira in Jinja district, commended the well-wishers for extending support to patients during the festive season.

The chairman of the board of governors at Jinja Hospital, Dr David Mukisa, appreciated Kadaga for her continued efforts to improve service delivery in the health sector.

He said that beyond the Christmas donations, Kadaga intervened when the hospital’s 4.5-acre piece of land was threatened by encroachers. As a result, the land is now secure and earmarked for the construction of a blood bank, a cancer unit and a heart institute.

Dr Mukisa also thanked the Madhvani Group of Companies for a sh500 million contribution towards the renovation of Nalufenya, a 150-bed facility whose catchment area covers 11 districts and Jinja city.

He added that discussions are ongoing to upgrade Nalufenya into a national referral hospital for children.