Uproar against the Poor Health Care System in Uganda

Ugandans on Twitter this morning: woke up to a reality and
decided to take action. We have an Understaffed and under paid health work
force and something has got to be done about it. With the hashtag
#UgBudgetHealth debate was generated. Unfortunately this is a debate that has
been going on for a long time now with nothing being done about it.
Last week, the Prime Minister of Uganda: Rt Honourable Amama Mbabazi
on Thursday rejected a committee proposal to cut Shs15 billion from the defense
budget and divert it to the health sector. 
Currently, UGshs 260bn is needed to recruit and motivate
health workers.  The Budget Committee Chairperson passed on the figures saying
that of the Shs260 billion that was needed, some of it would be to retain health workers currently on the
payroll (58 per cent staff establishment) by enhancing their salary by 50 per
cent.
But what is intriguing I guess is how this is even a subject
of debate. Why should we remind our leaders of what is going on in the state:
as if they shouldn’t know? Why should we plead for mothers and
children who are dying as the government looks on? Does it not occur to them
that health care is and should be a priority? 
I guess not.
Yesterday an accident occurred in Lwengo district. HorizonBus which does the Kampala to Kabale, Kigali and Bujumbura routes had about 58
people on board. 14 passed away and the rest were left to fend for themselves.
Lyantonde Hospital is the nearest to where the accident happened: but guess
what, today there are reports that the accident victims are being made to share
hospital beds. How does someone with a wound on their head share the same bed
with someone that has a hip dis-location? Are they the same blood group? Are
they under the same medication? Is this not a high risk to the patients? I do not understand.


And yet my government feels it okay to increase the budget
on defense because we need more sophiscated weaponry to protect the country from
our enemies; Seen and Unseen I guess.

Now why do you think I am making noise?
My father in late 2007 was diagnosed with Spondylosis of the
spine. What that means is; the cartilage between the cords that make the spinal
cord was wearing off. As it wore off the bones were hitting each other. When that
happened: he got seconds when he couldn’t feel his head.
Being a teacher by profession he was lucky: why- his former
students came together and agreed to help him. After a couple of months: it was
agreed that he would go to India for surgery. Now this did not happen overnight.
My father was in and out of hospital many times. But I remember once: the
doctor asked him to take a scan that would reveal the extent of damage done. He
was told that that machine was only available in Mulago Referral hospital. When
he got there; he was told the machine was not functioning. It had not been
functioning in months, we were told. He was told that he would be informed
later if it was ever repaired. He went for his first surgery in 2008 and he had
never been called. Up to now, he has never been called. My guess: that machine
may never have been repaired. My father has been lucky: through lots of
friends, he went for another surgery in India. The first was on the upper neck
: the latter on the lumbar. However, not so many have been as lucky as he is.
  According to
one Member of Parliament Gerald Karuhanga : as he said recently “Malaria is killing 320
Ugandans every day yet the government cannot find the Shs260 billion to
overhaul the health sector.” Just malaria, how about the number of babies who lose their lives at birth? and the number of women who die giving birth because there was no one to attend to them during their giving birth?
And the tweets today under the hashtag #UgHealthBudget: had a
lot of anger and disgust underneath. They are a cry of many Ugandans that lose
relatives and friends to poor health care systems in a year when Uganda is
celebrating 50 years of Independence.  
For more tweets: Follow the hashtag: #UghealthBudget.

4 thoughts on “Uproar against the Poor Health Care System in Uganda

  1. Hopefully the government will see to it that health care is well-attended, especially the basic ones that might lead to serious illnesses, such as colds and cough. Even sinusitis, it' best to buy nasonex as soon as symptoms arise because this can greatly affect one's productivity at work.

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