dfcu Bank has partnered with Rotary Uganda to expand access to essential healthcare services in underserved communities, using a free medical outreach in Kamwokya to address financial barriers that prevent many Ugandans from accessing timely diagnosis and treatment.
The medical camp, held on Friday, October 16, at Kamwokya Seventh-day Adventist Church, attracted hundreds of residents seeking medical consultations, laboratory tests, eye and dental care, family planning services, gynaecological care, mental health support and circumcision services.
The initiative demonstrates how private-sector institutions can complement healthcare delivery efforts by mobilising resources and working with medical professionals to provide essential services to communities that might otherwise struggle to afford them.
Residents were screened for malaria, hepatitis B, sickle cell disease, urinary tract infections and hypertension. Patients who required treatment received medication, while those with vision difficulties were provided with reading glasses where necessary.
Dr Alex Lwesabula, a medical doctor at Mengo Hospital who participated in the outreach, said more than 500 patients had received medical attention by midday, with organisers targeting between 1,000 and 1,500 beneficiaries by the end of the day.
“The numbers are really huge, and that shows the health needs of our people,” Lwesabula said.
He said the turnout reflected the substantial demand for affordable healthcare, particularly among households facing financial constraints that limit access to consultations, diagnostic tests and prescription medicines.
For low-income families, the cost of routine medical care can compete with other essential household expenses, potentially delaying diagnosis and treatment. Community medical outreaches help reduce these immediate costs while encouraging people to seek professional medical attention earlier.
Lwesabula said medical teams identified cases of hypertension and diabetes among patients who were previously unaware of their conditions, highlighting the importance of regular screening and preventive healthcare.
Other common conditions included malaria, coughs and flu, which he partly attributed to sanitation challenges and waterlogged areas in Kamwokya.
“Screening is part of health prevention. These people should go and screen for hypertension and diabetes,” he said, urging residents to undergo regular medical checks to improve the chances of early diagnosis and reduce the risk of complications.
He added that the medical camp provided free consultations, screening and medication, enabling residents to obtain care without incurring the usual costs associated with accessing these services.
Jimmy Mugerwa, chairman of dfcu Limited, said the partnership with Rotary reflected the bank’s commitment to creating social value beyond its core financial services.
Mugerwa, who also chairs Mengo Hospital and serves as an assistant governor in Rotary District 9214, said the initiative brought together institutions with a shared interest in improving community welfare.
“At dfcu, our purpose is to transform lives for our customers but also for businesses in Uganda. We believe we are in existence not just to provide financial solutions but to transform lives of people who support us,” he said.
He noted that community health is closely linked to economic productivity because illness can disrupt employment, reduce household incomes and increase expenditure on treatment. Expanding access to preventive healthcare can help households manage these risks while supporting a more productive workforce.
Through partnerships with organisations such as Rotary, financial institutions can extend their community engagement beyond banking access and enterprise support to include interventions addressing essential social needs.
The medical camp also featured a blood donation drive organised in partnership with Mengo Hospital. Organisers targeted 65 units of blood and had collected approximately 20 units by midday.
Mugerwa said the partners intended to continue working together through similar initiatives, noting that healthcare needs extended beyond what could be addressed during a single-day outreach.
Raymond Andrew Kalema, vice-chairman of the Projects Committee at Rotary Club of Kitante, said Rotary had organised medical camps in the community for about five years, with previous editions attracting an average of 500 to 600 people.
He said experience from earlier outreaches had demonstrated that diagnosing illnesses was not enough if patients could not afford prescribed medicines or access follow-up care.
Consequently, organisers prioritise stocking medicines to enable beneficiaries to begin treatment after receiving medical attention.
Kalema said Rotary’s community interventions also extended beyond healthcare to other essential services, including the installation of water pumps to improve access to clean water.
He called on more companies to support community health programmes, saying partnerships with private-sector institutions could increase the resources available to deliver services to underserved populations.
The outreach also reinforced dfcu’s commitment to raising awareness about sickle cell disease through proceeds from its annual dfcu Sickle Cell Walk, known as Hope in Motion.
Mugerwa said the bank would continue supporting sickle cell services by promoting testing, improving public understanding of the condition and reducing the stigma experienced by affected individuals and their families.
By supporting awareness and access to services, dfcu is extending its social investment beyond immediate medical assistance to initiatives aimed at encouraging early identification and improving public understanding of health conditions.
For residents, the outreach provided an opportunity to seek medical attention without the immediate financial burden associated with routine healthcare.
Tabu Bannard, a resident of Namugona, said he had spent more than a year seeking treatment for a persistent skin condition, paying approximately Shs120,000 at clinics without achieving the desired improvement.
He attended the Kamwokya camp after a friend informed him about the free services, where he received a medical assessment and medication.
“I have been trying several times from a certain clinic; they are giving me different tubes, but without any difference,” Tabu said.
He encouraged other young people to take advantage of free medical outreaches to seek professional advice and treatment.
Beatrice Nyabahimana, a resident of Church Area in Kamwokya, said she attended the camp with leg pain and symptoms of malaria and received treatment.
“I was happy they have worked on me well,” she said, thanking dfcu and Rotary for bringing free medical services closer to the community.
The experiences of the beneficiaries illustrate the immediate financial value of community medical camps, particularly for households that might otherwise postpone treatment because of cost. However, healthcare professionals emphasise that patients who require additional investigations, long-term medication or specialist attention need continued access to appropriate care beyond the outreach.
The dfcu-Rotary initiative highlights the potential of partnerships between businesses, service organisations and healthcare providers to expand access to essential services while supporting broader economic and social development.
Mugerwa said the partners would need to return to the community with additional initiatives, noting that the number of people reached in a single day remained small compared with the wider healthcare needs.
Sustained investment in such programmes could help more households access timely medical attention, reduce the immediate costs of seeking care and strengthen the contribution of private-sector institutions to community development.