Africa-Press – Uganda. Ugandans have been urged to invest in their own health as one of the ways to ensure a health nation.
Speaking during the launch of the 2025 Family Health Expo and Symposium, slated for August 1to 3 at UMA Show Grounds in Lugogo, Grace Ssali Kiwanuka, the Executive Director, Uganda Healthcare Federation said ensuring good health an individual responsibility.
“Health is not just a responsibility of health workers but the responsibility of you and myself. We are each responsible for our own health. Through the food we eat, when we sleep, when we exercise ,we make that decision. We all know what to do to contribute to our own health and wellbeing. Health remains each and everyone’s responsibility,” Kiwanuka said.
The Family Health Expo and Symposium aimed to provide a platform for families to connect, learn, and play together, with an emphasis on educational and fun activities and this year’s event will run under the theme, ‘Innovating Health to Overcome Funding Gaps and Advance Preventive Care through the Private Sector.’
Speaking on Thursday, Uganda HealthCare Federation’s Grace Kiwanuka said now with donors pulling out of funding the country’s critical sectors like health, it is crucial that Ugandans step in.
“Government of Uganda has taken up self-care which means it is encouraging us to do more for ourselves in our homes and work spaces without the need of interventions of health workers. This is what self-care means. Can you eat healthier, can you be more physically active, can you introduce a health hour three times a week whether in your home or work place. That one hour will help you be more healthy and will instill more health habits into your routine so you will less the health worker to provide care,” she said.
Kiwanuka said this is one of the tenets of the expo and symposium as a means to reiterate to Ugandans that their health is their responsibility.
The Assistant Commissioner Health Services at the Ministry of Health, Dr.Timothy Musila emphasized the need for Ugandans to invest in their own health.
“We think if we focused on prevention and health promotion, we will save a lot of money but also reduce on the burden of disease and illnesses that we get. In this country we spend about $45 per capita on health services and of that amount, government contributes $6. This means the rest is funded by investments by the consumers of healthcare through out of pocket expenditure and the partners who have been supporting us,” Dr.Musila said.
He however noted that since donors have pulled out, the burden now remains with consumers of healthcare to fully fund the services they need.
“Household income growth has not kept pace with the burden of disease. The portion of household income that can actually be set aside for healthcare hasn’t increased yet households are paying 40% for their healthcare out of pocket. This is time for us to take care of our own health. We have an opportune now to rethink the way we keep our people healthy by the way we finance and distribute healthcare.”
He however insisted that it is high time Ugandans focused more on prevention of diseases and keeping healthy.
The head of the Orthodox Church in Uganda, Metropolitan Jeronimos Muzeeyi who also represented the Inter-religious Council of Uganda underscored the need for local solutions to local problems.
“As faith leaders we acknowledge our vital role of promoting well-being of communities and we continue to advocate for people-centred policies, influence health behaviours and work through our structures to provide health services and spiritual support,”Muzeeyi said.
He said with reducing foreign aid, vulnerable families are continuing to be negatively affected.
“It is incumbent upon all of us to explore more affordable and sustainable health financing mechanisms to reduce the financial risk associated with healthcare. We therefore acknowledge the centrality of the family as our first institution of learning and shaping our social and spiritual foundation. Family health is therefore key since everything starts from the family.”
However, the head of the Orthodox Church in Uganda asked government to speed up the enactment of the national health insurance scheme.
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