Expectant mothers in Tajar Parish, Kamutur Sub-County, Bukedea district, are living in fear as climate change fuels recurring floods that worsen already fragile health services.
Tajar, which has been severely affected by flooding from the Elgon Mountain, lacks a nearby health center with maternity services, forcing pregnant women to give birth at home or endure dangerous journeys to distant facilities.
On the evening of Friday, August 29, 2025, Christine Namataka, a 21-year-old expectant mother, was due to deliver in her flooded home. With the roads submerged and impassable, neighbors carried her on a bed through the mud to the nearest facility in Bulambuli district, five kilometers away.
By the time they arrived, Namataka was exhausted and too weak to deliver, prompting a referral to Kapchorwa Hospital. She underwent surgery but later died, leaving behind a two-day-old baby now cared for by her mother in their inundated home.
“The community came together to help her; she was laid on a bed as they carried her to the health center,” recalled Sarah Namutosi, the grieving mother.
Her story has instilled fear among other women in the community. Beth Nabaya, eight months pregnant with her seventh child, said she has always delivered at home because of the distance, poor road conditions, and the floods. “Even when I attend antenatal care, reaching a hospital to deliver is impossible. Since I began giving birth, I have never visited a hospital,” she explained.
Similarly, 36-year-old Jackline Nafula, a mother of seven and heavily pregnant, expressed her fear. “What has happened in the community has left all the women with a lot of fear. Even when you go to our nearest facility, there are no services. The roads are so flooded and muddy that not even a boda boda can pass,” she said.
Local leaders say the floods have intensified existing vulnerabilities. Rogers Nabiyambe, the area councilor of Tajar, explained: “Top leaders have failed to find solutions to the challenges we face due to the floods, which have destroyed crops, killed animals, and now claimed the life of one of our daughters. That night, six residents worked for over five hours to carry Christine to Muyembe Health Center III, but she was already too weak when we arrived.”
The Bukedea District Health Officer, Emmanuel Okalany Odeke, confirmed that a maternity ward is being completed at Tajar Health Center II. “The ward has been built, and we are waiting for the contractor to hand it over. We have all the necessary equipment ready to install,” he said.
Weeks before Namataka’s death, floods displaced thousands in Tajar after heavy rains from the Elgon Mountain caused the Sironko River to overflow. The torrential downpours destroyed plantations of maize, rice, and cassava, washed away the Tajar Bridge, and cut off access to nearby districts. Many families now live in churches, temporary shelters, and abandoned classrooms of Tajar Primary School.
For Tajar’s mothers, the intersection of climate change and weak health infrastructure has turned childbirth into a life-threatening ordeal. As extreme weather events become more frequent, residents fear more women will die unless urgent investments are made in both climate resilience and maternal health services.
