East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) Ltd. has today, carried out inspections on the ongoing construction of a modern maternal and child healthcare wing at Mbarara Health Centre II in Kitoba Sub-County, Hoima District, and donated 200 Mama kits to help reduce preventable maternal and newborn deaths.
This initiative aligns with EACOP’s Socio-Economic Investment Pillar-Community Health and Safety, which focuses on deliberate interventions to improve the social and economic well-being of communities along the pipeline.
For years, Mbarara Health Centre II has served as a crucial regional lifeline. However, a rapidly growing population has overwhelmed the facility, which currently supports a catchment of over 10,000 people across 16 villages. With the nearest Health Centre III located more than 20 kilometers away over limited road infrastructure, community access to specialized maternal care has remained a severe challenge.
To bridge this gap, EACOP partnered with the Hoima District local government to establish a modern maternal wing built to Ministry of Health guidelines, serving as a vital step toward upgrading the facility to Health Centre III status.
Speaking during the site inspection and official launch event, EACOP’s Managing Director, Guillaume Dulout, emphasized the transformative nature of the project:
“We are not merely inspecting the ongoing construction of a new building, but opening doors to safer motherhood, improved healthcare outcomes, and renewed hope for thousands of families in this region who previously faced difficulties in accessing maternal health services. For many expectant mothers, access to quality maternal healthcare has often been limited by distance, inadequate facilities, and a shortage of specialized services. This new facility will help address these challenges by bringing critical maternal and surgical services closer to the people who need them most.”
During the same event, EACOP handed over 200 Mama kits to address urgent maternal health challenges in Hoima District. Each kit contains cotton wool, plastic basins, plastic sheets, gloves, surgical blades, gauze, baby bedsheets, a baby blanket, and cord ligatures.
The donation originated from an International Women’s Day initiative under the theme “Give to Gain,” which evolved into a company-wide internal campaign. Through the 2026 1443 Pipeline Challenge campaign-a target for good, EACOP employees committed to walking or running a minimum of 100 kilometers each, successfully transforming personal fitness milestones into profound social impact.
Speaking during the handover ceremony, EACOP’s HR and Corporate Affairs Director, Eileen Baguma, noted that the donation of 200 Mama kits is a significant gesture:
“Behind each kit is a mother who deserves safety, a newborn who deserves a healthy start, and a community that benefits when care is extended at the most critical moment, which is birth.”
By tackling local healthcare disparities, this intervention directly supports the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG 3), specifically contributing to the global target of accelerating the decline of maternal mortality by 2030.
The facility in-charge, Aweko Grace, commended the team for the timely support, describing the donation as “a lifeline that has restored dignity and efficiency to maternal care services at Mbarara Health Centre II.”
