Maternal-Infant Health in Southwest Uganda

550 women per 100,000 births die every year in childbirth or due to preventable pregnancy‐related causes in Uganda.
76 newborns per 1000 births die in the first week of life.
137 children of every 1000 do not survive until their fifth birthday.

BMCF Health Program

Founded in 2002, the Bishop Masereka Medical Center (BMMC) responds to the most pressing need of Kasese: to reduce the number of women who die in childbirth and to ensure that all children see their 5th birthday.

Making motherhood safer:

Reduces unnecessary loss of life
Protects the health of infants and children
Increases the likelihood that children will complete their education
Reduces the numbers of orphans, and attendant risks, including early pregnancy and HIV infection
Strengthens the economy of the community

The work of BMCF pursues four of the eight UN Millennium Development Goals:

#4 Reduce child mortality
#5 Improve maternal health
#6 Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases

Bishop Masereka Medical Center

With a highly qualified, locally-led medical team, BMMC attends to 800 to 1000 patients every month, and treated over 20,000 people in 2011. With a focus on maternal-infant care, the clinic provides skilled assistance during childbirth, including surgical delivery and obstetric emergency care, prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT), care for newborns (including premature and SGA infants), infant immunization, treatment for malaria, contraception, and HIV/AIDS testing, counseling and treatment, HIV prevention education in the community, and urgent care for all.

BMMC contains the only operating theatre in the area. BMMC lab technicians deliver test results unavailable anywhere else in the region. The clinic includes an ultra sound scanner and radiology services. BMMC is considered a center of excellence, providing the best care available in Kasese and regularly receiving referrals from other health facilities.

BMMC Impact

In 2011, the medical center:

Delivered 270 babies without the loss of a single mother—in a region where maternal mortality is 10 times that of the U.S.
Immunized more than 1000 babies
Provided testing, care and counseling to over 600 HIV-positive adults and children, and over 21,000 patients total
Treated malaria in over 1000 pregnant and post-natal mothers, newborns and children under 5
Sponsored the education of a Ugandan medical student who will return to the clinic as a full-time physician
Treated patients with various diagnoses, including typhoid fever, AIDS, hypertension in pregnancy, depression and anxiety, hepatitis B, alcohol and drug abuse, cardiac disease, rabies, epilepsy, and snakebites.

Welcome, Babies! Congratulations, Mamas!
Healthy babies born with skilled assistance at the Bishop Masereka Medical Center.


Born on June 8th, 2012	Born on June 17th, 2012

Born on June 18th, 2012	Born on June 19th, 2012

Born on June 8th, 2012	Born on June 8th, 2012

Born on June 6th, 2012	Born on June 13th, 2012

Born on June 19th, 2012

BMCF Leadership and Staff Bios

Daniel Sambili, M.D., is chief operating physician at BMMC and is responsible, along with the staff, for the day‐to‐day operations at the clinic. Dr. Sambili received his medical degree in 2001 from Makerere University Medical School. Following a surgical residency, Dr. Sambili plans to return to the BMMC to continue to care for the people of Kasese.

BMMC Staff