Government releases sh13b for upgrading and rehabilitating health centre IIIs

Upgraded Birongo HC III in Kijongo Sub County, Ibanda district

The Government released sh13.39b for upgrading health centre IIIs to health centre IVs and renovating existing ones in the financial year 2023/24, Parliament has heard.

In the exercise of upgrading these health centres, the Government is complying with its policy of having at least a health centre IV and III per constituency and sub-county, respectively.

The House also heard recently that the Ministry of Finance released sh2.3b for the construction of Computed Tomography (CT) scans housing in the 2023/24 financial year.

This is contained in the report of the budget committee of Parliament on the National Budget Framework Paper for the financial year 2024/25 to 2028/29, which the House approved with amendments on January 31, 2024.

During its oversight visits, the committee observed that many health centre IIIs and IVs were in a dilapidated state while some areas did not have health centre IIIs and IVs as required.

“This situation affects health service delivery like maternal and child health services, emergency services and primary health care,” the committee, which is chaired by the Kachumbala County MP, Patrick Isiagi Opolot, reported.

Call for extra funding Parliament accepted the committee’s recommendation that an additional sh16.61b be provided for upgrading the health centre IIIs to health centre IVs and renovation of existing ones.

Legislators also recommended that an additional sh7.7b be provided for the completion of CT scan housing as had been planned.

They also asked the financial ministry to release an additional sh16.2b in the financial year 2024/25 to facilitate the renovation and equipping of hospitals and health facilities.

“If these hospitals are in good condition it will reduce the need for patients travelling to regional hospitals, thereby de-congesting regional and national referral hospitals to enable them to provide the much-needed specialized health care,” Opolot said while reading the report.

He said as a committee, they continue to support the Government's efforts geared towards the renovation and rehabilitation of hospitals and health facilities that are in a dilapidated state across the country on a case-by-case basis.

During budget scrutiny for the financial year 2023/24, Parliament was informed that sh24.1b was required to undertake the construction and rehabilitation of the regional referral hospitals for Arua.

Arua Hospital’s orthopaedic ward and theatre works will cost sh2.5b, the administration block sh2.5b, a mortuary sh300m, imaging centre sh500m, staff house sh4.1b, and for Fort Portal, sh6b for works at its staff house, while at Kiruddu, the waste treatment plant was budgeted for sh300m.

At Gulu, the Out Patient Department and ward rehabilitation was budgeted for sh2b, at Lira the rehabilitation of buildings was budgeted for sh800m, while at Soroti the rehabilitation of buildings and infrastructure will cost sh5b