UGANDA: GULU MEDICAL CAMP ORGANIZED A 23-YEAR-OLD HEART PATIENT FOR HEART TRANSPLANT

The president of the Association of Uganda (AOA), Dr. Lydia Nakingi, is proud of the Gulu Regional Referral Hospital Medical Camp’s response on day one, which attracted 1,000 patients for treatment; among the 1,000 patients, the heart patient had lived with the disease for 23 years. Although her condition was discovered, she was referred to Mulago National Referral Hospital for further operation.

GULU CITY- SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2026

Anna Acayo, 23 years old, was born with heart disease. She did not know that she had a heart-related sickness until she came to seek treatment at Gulu Regional Referral Hospital on Saturday, August 21, 2026. Her dream came true that she would finally get a cure.

“I have a heart problem which needs a surgeon, but it is very expensive to operate”, a senior four at Gulu Bright Valley Secondary School dropped out and needs help.

Anna Acayo, although she has been vomiting blood since the attack occurred, is a happy heart patient. Since the physician diagnosed her, she concurred that she needs a heart operation, and she has been referred to Mulago National Hospital. But she declined because the operation for her heart is very expensive.

She added, currently I don’t have the funds to undergo the heart operation at Mulago National Referral Hospital; she lives in Palabek Sub County.

Okumu Livingstone Langol, Uganda Correspondent, caught up with Dr. Lydia Nakiyingi in a one-on-one interview on Saturday at Gulu Regional Referral Hospital and asked her who she was and why the team of Physicians decided to have a medical camp in Acholi Sub Region.

Dr. Lydia Nakiyingi responded; I am the President of Uganda. We decided to have a two-day medical camp at Gulu Regional Referral Hospital because the Physician is a specialist in treating non-communicable diseases that affect conditions like the lungs, heart, and kidneys.

When you are a Physician, you have a Master’s degree in Medical; you become Supper specialists in Nephology, Cardiology (physicians), general cardiology and Infection, Biopsy/Histopathology, and pathology. They are here at Gulu Regional Hospital. Through the Association of Physicians Uganda, we organised the physicians’ camp, which was planned to be two days camp; we provide support for treating patients of Non-Committable Diseases.

Why did we choose this camp, as Physician we are very few in the country; we are about 600-800. We provide medical treatment for the entire population of 46 million Ugandans who need our help. So, there are groups of variation Supper Physicians and the Physicians and the patient, in our experience and pharmaceutical.

As physicians, we have realised that patients come they demand the physician. They come late to seek medical help when their condition has progressed; many of them died as a result of coming late. Such patients can be helped when they respond very early; we put them on drugs.

The physicians decided to extend our services close to the community in Acholi Sub-Region by organizing a medical camp, which was planned to provide our services. We don’t want someone to get to that level when patients need dialysis; it requires more financing to treat the Diabetic person because of the transplanted kidney. We have to sensitize the community, as we have been giving them treatment.

“For this patient, we give them public health education, talking to them as people waiting in the line; we have been treating them, diagnosing them, and we have managed to give support. This will enable clinicians to extend their knowledge in Non-Committable Disease, later, after this physicians’ medical camp, the Clinical workers will keep on giving them services.” Dr Lydia Nakiyingi observed.

So far, yesterday, on day one, we have registered 1,000 patients. These physicians were very happy; the turnout was overwhelming. We worked with Phamartical; we have worked with Gulu Regional Referral Hospital. We have also been able to access the laboratories of MBN, Medical Clinical Ltd, and HIV centre services.

We have been able to utilize the two-day medical camp, yesterday Hon Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Norbert Mao was with us; he provided Logistic Support to come to Gulu, Acholi Sub-Region. There are many interns from Makerere University, and the Minister of Health gave support to us for the medical camp. Staff of Gulu Hospital also gave us support; the media also sensitized the community about the importance of the medical camp.

“We worked with the Medical Clinical Centre doing HIV testing MBN too.”

What did you encounter during the two-day medical camp, Dr Lydia Nakiyingi?

We did not meet any challenges because we got support from the patients, we show many patients with new cases of diabetes; people do not know that they have High Blood Pressure; many of them came for the test.

A case that challenged us: we went in to help the patient who was vomiting blood and had been continuing to vomit blood for years; it had been recurring for some months, and sometimes it happened, sometimes it stopped. We realised the patient needed more advanced diagnostic tests when we suggested them. We found that the patient had to move to Kampala. When we inquired how much it cost, it required very significant money to go for treatment.

The patient decided to sell production; we inquired from him, and the patient said they have to plant crops that will take months.

Anna Acayo, 23 years old, was born with heart disease. She did not know that she had a heart-related sickness until she came to seek treatment at Gulu Regional Referral Hospital on Saturday, August 21, 2026; her dream came true that finally she would get care.

“I have a heart problem which needs surgery, but it is very expensive to operate”, a senior Four of Gulu Bright Valley, Gulu Secondary School, dropped out, needs help.

Anna Acayo, although she has been vomiting blood since the attack occurred, is a happy heart patient. Since the physician has diagnosed it, she concurred that she needs a heart operation since she has been referred to Mulago National Hospital. But she decried that the operation for her heart is very expensive.

She added, currently I don’t have the funds to undergo the heart operation at Mulago National Referral Hospital, she lives in Palabek Sub County.

Dr Nakiyingi, a very happy Senior physician, positively noted that they met their target of coming with more than 30 physicians. We have general physicians, Senior physicians from Kampala, and we have 30 student intern doctors who are accompanying us.

What is your take-home?

My take-home: first of all, the government needs to increase the intake of Physicians to government facilities, so they are able to handle this; the numbers are few. The population needs this kind of medical camp service, as I have said. When you avoid prolonged service, the services become easier.

We are better able to control the services early; otherwise, the CMD is increasing. People find that they don’t do well because their condition is bad; people sit in their office for long hours, and they no longer move around.

Other takes home message, is about Alcoholic drink, there is high numbers of people taking Alcoholic without doing activity, eat poor diet that conditioning to CMD, we also put a lot of activities need to control those health condition, also improve health services, across all level in the country, urban and rural areas.

Labong Betty, 75 years old, from Bardege-Layibi Division, Gulu City, is a patient with heart disease; she was a very happy person. She has lived with a heart condition from 2008 to date; she says she was better when she was put on heart treatment, but later she left treatment when she found that she was better.

“Now I am given Heart drugs; I am going home a happy person; I am getting drugs for all my life.” Labong Betty observed.

Lawino Susan, 23 years old, from Akonyi-bedo village, Laroo-pece Gulu City Division, has a chest problem.

“Over the last four years, I have been having chest pain. My grandmother fell on my chest when she got entangled with a mosquito net. I have had chest pain since then. My purpose in coming to the medical camp was to get X-ray testing; I am very disappointed.” Lawino Susan decried.