The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kasese, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Kasese district Leaders have asked president Yoweri Museveni to intervene in the controversies surrounding the withdrawal of the credit line for medical supplies of Kilembe Mines Hospital.
Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary Dr Diana Atwine wrote to the Executive Director of Joint Medical Stores on December 2, 2022, asking for the deactivation of Kilembe Mines Hospital from the list of facilities that qualify for essential medicines and health supplies.
According to the communication, the hospital had failed to utilize funds for essential medicines and health supplies during the first quarter of the financial year 2022/23 covering the period between July and September 2022. The facility has been getting an annual allocation of about 354 million Shillings.
The Ministry has however, directed that the money should be reallocated to other facilities at HC III, HC IV and hospital levels in both in Kasese district and Kasese municipality, a decision which has sparked angry reactions from different district leaders questioning the intention and basis under which it was made.
Kasese district chairperson Eliphazi Muhindi said they were shocked by the directive given the relevance of the facility in an area that has been struggling to emerge out of the health service challenges brought about by the 2020 floods. Muhindi also questioned how the decision was taken without the involvement of district leaders.
Kasese Municipality Mayor Chance Kahindo said the facility is largely serving the population from hard-to-reach areas and similarly wonders why such a decision was taken without their involvement. Kahindo says that the performance reports available at the facility are a clear indication of its relevance to the community.
Bulembia Division chairperson Richard Bomera said that the leadership has been writing numerous letters to the government seeking more support for the facility given the high population it’s handling but this is now thwarted by the new directive. He adds that the efforts of the local community who mobilized themselves to re-establish the facility have now gone to waste.
Kasese woman MP Florence Kabugho argued that Kilembe Mines Hospital is essential in meeting the health needs of women, especially pregnant mothers from mountainous areas, many of whom cannot afford transport to health facilities in Kasese town and beyond.
Similarly, Kasese municipality MP Ferigo Kambale feels the withdrawal of medical supplies to the Hospital will be an act of betrayal to the community which was counting on the pledge by the government to rebuild and upgrade the same facility.
Jane Rose Kabasongora, the acting Hospital Administrator told URN that the communication came as a surprise since they have been advocating for more funds and medical supplies. Since its transfer to Kilembe in April last year, Kabasongora said, they have served at least 536, 653 patients.
Julia Biira, a mother of one said they have been struggling to access services at the facility due to the absence of essential medicines and they hoped that the government would consider increasing medical supplies to cover the needs of the population. She added that even without drugs the facility remains their only choice.
Kilembe mines hospital permanently shifted to Kasese town in June 2021 after two waves of flash floods on May 7 and May 10 2020. However, a Tri-partite arrangement between the Government of Uganda, Kilembe Mines Ltd and Kasese Catholic Diocese came to an end in April last year.
Kilembe mines then offered some of its old structures adjacent to those destroyed by floods to accommodate the hospital while the diocese opted to continue its services as St. Mary’s Hospital in Kasese town.
The facility serves a population of more than 500, 000 people in seven sub-counties and one division of Mbuga, Rukoki, Nyakabingo, Mahango, Kilembe, part of Bugoye sub-counties, Bulembia and Central division of Kasese municipality.
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