Kyabirwa Surgical Center to Benefit from Rotary-Hernia International Partnership Targeting 4,000 Hernia Surgeries

Kyabirwa Surgical Center Joins Major Partnership to Expand Hernia Care Across Eastern Uganda
A new partnership between the Rotary Club of Jinja, Hernia International, and five healthcare facilities across Eastern and Central Uganda aims to deliver nearly 4,000 affordable hernia surgeries while building lasting local surgical capacity.

The initiative, funded through The Rotary Foundation’s Disease Prevention and Treatment program as Global Grant GG2686728, was officially launched at Kamuli Mission Hospital. Key partners include the Rotary Club of Jinja as host sponsor, the Rotary Club of Sidmouth (UK) as international sponsor, and Hernia International as technical partner.

Kyabirwa Surgical Center in Jinja City is among five participating facilities, alongside Kamuli Mission Hospital, Herona Community Hospital in Mukono, Holy Cross Hospital in Luweero, and St. Francis Health Centre IV in Njeru.

The Problem
Hernias are among the most common surgical conditions globally and highly treatable — yet in rural Uganda, poverty, limited surgical services, and lack of trained staff leave many patients going years without care. Pre-project community assessments confirmed a significant backlog of untreated cases. Without surgery, patients often can’t work or farm; in severe cases, the condition becomes life-threatening.

What the Project Delivers
Beyond funding surgeries, the initiative equips participating facilities with advanced sterilization equipment (including Eschmann SES3000B autoclaves), surgical instruments, and low-cost hernia mesh production support. Nurses, surgeons, and biomedical engineers will receive training in sterilization, infection prevention, equipment maintenance, and quality assurance.

The most significant clinical component is expanding access to mesh-based hernia repair — the global standard. Mesh repair reduces recurrence rates to under 1%, compared to significantly higher rates with traditional suture-only techniques. The problem: commercial mesh is prohibitively expensive for most patients in the region, so many facilities currently default to the inferior method.
By supporting local mesh production, the project aims to make gold-standard repair the norm rather than the exception across the sub-region.

What It Means for Kyabirwa
Hernia procedures account for roughly 80% of surgical needs in the Busoga region. Kyabirwa Executive Director Anna Turumanya Kalumuna called the partnership a transformational investment, noting that local mesh production would reduce costs and build long-term self-reliance. The facility already has relatively good mesh access and rarely performs non-mesh repairs — this project extends that advantage further and at lower cost.
Head of Surgery Dr. Damoi Okello Joseph noted that recurrent hernias, which result from failed primary repairs, are far more complex and costly to treat. Wider adoption of mesh repair directly reduces that burden.
Director of Nursing Ambrose Nuwahereza emphasized that the training component would equip clinical teams with practical, sustainable skills suited to the local setting — improvements that will outlast the grant period.

The Long View
Project partners expect the grant to support around 4,000 hernia repairs, but the goal is bigger than clearing a waiting list. The investment in skills, equipment, and systems is designed to keep functioning long after the funding ends — building surgical infrastructure that serves communities for years to come.