Hydrocephalus and Spinabifida Initiative is a non-governmental, non-political, working since 2011 as a community Based Organization (CBO) in Wakiso District.

HSI gained NGO status in 2017 after registering with NGO Board. We create awareness to the Community; we look for our children wheel chairs and transport children for specialized treatment.

Our Focus

• Hydrocephalus literally means water in the head in greek.
• Everybody has some fluid /water called Cerebral Spinal Fluid (CSF) in the brain.
• In hydrocephalus, there is an abnormal increase/too much water in the brain, therefore the
• ventricles (chambers) in the brain enlarge to accommodate the excess fluid causing a big head or increase in the head size in young children.

• Hydrocephalus occurs when the fluids is not removed from the brain as  fast as it’s
• produced. It accumulates within the skull, compresses the brain and damages it.

  Normally the brain is protected from damage by;

• The bones(the skull) that cover it.
• Fluid/water called cerebral spinal fluids(CSF)

USES OF Cerebral Spinal Fluid (Water)

• Protects the brain from injury.
• Provides nutrients/food to the brain.
• Makes the brain lighter than it actually is.

• Water (CSF) is produced in small spaces in the brain called ventricles . The water normally flows along three ventricles in the brain and the spinal cord and it is reabsorbed into the bloodstream through special veins.
• As water is produced, more is absorbed at a constant rate so that the amount remain is the same.

There are three main causes of hydrocephalus;

Blockage in the brain, this prevents removal/flow of the water from the brain. These blockages may be caused by;

• Head injuries,
• Infections of the nervous system like meningitis,
• Brain tumours and spina bifida or cysts.

• The brain makes too much fluid/water that cannot be reabsorbed as fast as it is being produced (too much choroid plexus.)
• Sometimes hydrocephalus develops while the child is still in the uterus (mother’s womb) here the cause is unknown.