Africa-Press – Uganda. With the government employing about 2,000 doctors, amongst whom there are just over 200 surgeons, it’s not hard to see why public health care remains woeful in Uganda. We have troubling data contained in multiple reports, including the ubiquitous annual health sector performance reports, to appreciate our precarious public health situation. Despite relative progress with a remarkable reduction of wasting in children under five from 14 percent to 3 percent; better maternal health outcomes, etc, the painful facts about how unhealthy our hospitals have become are glaring enough. Unfortunately, the government continues to sleep-walk through the problem, risking the lives of millions at a time when non-communicable disease is on the rise.
Right now we are again in the unbearable grip of strike action by senior house officers (doctors undergoing specialised training).Scores of intern doctors meanwhile remain undeployed almost a year after they should have been pressed into service, and the few associate consultant doctors in the country will soon also withdraw their services from public hospitals. In the meantime, patients are literally dying to see a health worker.At the heart of the matter is the commonsense question of money. The medics make a rational point for better working conditions, including realistic pay. But the government dithers, taking unrealistic positions while making dubious appeals to the patriotic sensibilities of our health workers.
Four factors have perennially militated against public health services in Uganda. They include a persistent funding gap, understaffing; unreliable distribution of drugs and consumable sundries. The received wisdom is that proper budgetary allocations can begin to address these four points.
We have to improve appropriations for health, especially since the majority of Ugandans rely on public hospitals. Only a very small minority can afford the prohibitively expensive private hospitals. Health insurance, which could theoretically answer the wider health question, is itself beset by policy and real life constraints, including affordability and accessibility. For now, mainly the political elite, senior government workers and the few well-off enjoy this option.
We say, Health minister Jane Ruth Aceng only hopes of meeting the National Development Programme III sub-programme objective of improving population health, and ultimately bringing down the country’s overall disease burden, is through a more robust budget. At the current 6.1 percent allocation of the national budget, as recorded in the 2020/21 annual health sector performance report, her options are limited. The sector is an expensive one to run, yes; but unlike infrastructure and energy development which are present government priorities, human health cannot be deferred. A sick person must be treated or they could die. Simply put, money has to be found to properly run our public hospitals. Pay health workers well, lift the moratorium on staff recruitment so that the 50 percent unfilled vacancies gap is plugged and improve drug stocks.
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