In Mbale District, Uganda, one exhausted midwife—widely loved by her community and usually fantastic at her job—found herself snapping at her clients and being rude. For days, she’d been working without rest at a clinic that offers 24-hour maternity care. And she was burned out.
She’s not alone. The country’s vast shortage of health workers has left almost half the jobs in the health sector empty and the other half filled with staff who are overworked to the breaking point. In Mbale, clinicians could give patients only about five minutes of their time, which led to far too many mistaken diagnoses and prescriptions. Read more »
