Gov’t tasked to invest in research to stregthen health information systems

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The government has been tasked to invest in health information systems. Dr Ekwaro Obuku, the President of the Uganda Medical Association (UMA) says some aspects of health don’t need new research but applying what has been done elsewhere.

Obuku was responding to a revelation by Dr Joyce Moriku Kaducu, the Minister of State for Primary Health Care who said that government has this financial year allocated 30 billion shillings towards health research.

According to Kaducu, the money will be used by higher institutions of learning like the Makerere University School of Public Health who have already been tasked to identify areas of research and innovation that will help improve healthcare.

Obuku warns that sponsored research sometimes tend to focus on the needs of the funder and not the population. He explains that a lot research has been done especially studies but they are never rolled out for general use.

According to Obuku, what’s lacking is having proper information systems.

Currently, the majority of research that has been done is sponsored by donors. For instance, in the area of HIV, scientists are have recently studied and found effective prevention devices like for instance the vaginal ring, Pre-exposure prophylaxis drugs but these remain in study settings and can’t be used by the general public even as they are used elsewhere.

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