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Health facilities in Acholi receive Shs40b boost
Supported. Expectant women wait for health workers at Otwal Health Centre III in Oyam District in October 2017. The health service project will run for four years in the selected facilities. PHOTO BY BILL OKETCH
What you need to know:
- The minister, however, warned the implementing districts to ensure timely recruitment of staff into these facilities to ensure the project achieves its goals.
- Mr Robert Ongom, the Omoro District health officer, said the project will improve his staff capacity to manage the quality of care they offer to the communities.
By 2.35pm on Tuesday afternoon, more than 40 mothers and their babies were queuing up at the outpatient department of Koch Goma Health Centre III in Nwoya District for regular check-up and immunisation.
Only one health worker, who declined to disclose his name, could be seen serving the mothers while his counterparts performed other duties at the facility that has only 10 health workers out of the required 22.
Mr Charles Kilama, the chairperson of Kal A Village, where the health centre is located, said many patients return to their homes without receiving the services on a daily basis because health workers are overwhelmed by their big number.
Data from the facility’s registry indicates that it serves more than 33,000 patients from Nwoya, Amuru, Oyam and Omoro districts.
“The biggest challenge here has been inadequate staffing and the lack of transport means to collect or refer patients to either Anaka or Gulu hospitals. We have, however, requested the Health ministry to upgrade the facility to a health centre IV to enable it serve the population to standard level,” Mr Kilama said.
However, during the launch of the Enabling Health in Acholi (EHA) project at the health facility on Tuesday, the facility was named among the 32 centres selected from Acholi Sub-region to benefit from the project.
The project is being implemented by Enabel, a Belgian development agency.
The health facilities were evenly selected from Nwoya, Gulu, Amuru and Omoro districts.
Speaking at the launch, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, the Minister of Health, said they look to revamp the health services in Acholi with the $11 million (about Shs40b) funding by United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
“The maternal mortality rate in Acholi Sub-region will reduce under this initiative because of the efforts by the US and the Belgium governments. More efforts need to be made to educate the mothers that they need to deliver in the health facilities,” Dr Aceng said.
“I have no doubt that the districts that have been identified to implement this project will deliver, let us see better health service delivery in these districts, including at the regional referral hospitals of Gulu and Lacor,” she added.
The minister, however, warned the implementing districts to ensure timely recruitment of staff into these facilities to ensure the project achieves its goals.
Mr Robert Ongom, the Omoro District health officer, said the project will improve his staff capacity to manage the quality of care they offer to the communities.
“Once health workers are motivated, accountability and the quality of services improves subsequently. This has been the major component lacking in the current system,” Mr Ongom said.
According to Dr Sarah Byakika, the commissioner for Health services, planning and financing at the Health ministry, Shs3.2b of the funds will be allocated to improving infrastructure, learning and innovation among the staff.
“We want to increase access to quality health services at both public and private health facilities using this approach and also strengthen emergency referral systems by enhancing infrastructure while focusing largely on maternal and child health,” Dr Byakika said.
Piloted
Enabel’s spokesperson Agnes Kabaikya said pilot projects done in other parts of the world showed remarkable results, adding that the productivity of the facilities were twice as good than in other facilities that were not implementing the project.
“EHA is set to run for four years (2019-2022) in Acholi region. This approach will address poor quality of services provided to the population since the intervention subsidizes fees for patients and provides incentives to health workers,” she said.
But Dr Byakika warned that “within the project, there are sanctions. If a facility fails to adhere or misappropriates the funds, their contract is terminated. So, monitor and guard against some of these challenges related to transparency and accountability.”
Meanwhile, the Belgian ambassador to Uganda, Mr Rudi Veestraeten, urged government to inject more resources into the health sector if it is to realise a more productive and healthy population.
“Good healthcare is a human right. We call on government to prioritise the health sector, this is an absolute necessity if the government really wants to improve healthcare of Ugandans,” Mr Veestraeten said.
“There is need to bridge efforts and strong coordination from the national stakeholders and the donor community and this is where government needs to do more,” he said.
Mr Veestraeten said result-based financing approach was first carried out in Cambodia, Benin, Rwanda, Burundi with similar experiments in Peru, Niger, Senegal and the lessons learnt in these countries helped to accelerate the launch of the initiative in Uganda.
Currently, the model approach has already been brought to activity in 44 health facilities in the Rwenzori Sub-region and 39 in West Nile, where implementing health facilities only receive the funds once they achieve good output both in quantity and quality.
Under the project, funding to health facilities will be based on performance where it has to perform first before it gets the money, whereas eligible facilities must have been accredited to operate as health centre IIIs, IVs and general hospitals.
Allocation
Although the fund is set to run for four years, only Shs18b will be released in the first two years. About Shs500m, will be used to facilitate the district health management teams whose role will be to monitor and verify the facilities. Sixty per cent of the funds will be received by the facilities as incentives to improve service delivery. Additionally, Shs3.3b will be used to improve infrastructure, learning and innovation.
beneficiary facilities
GULU DISTRICT
1 Angaya HCIII
2.Anywee HCIII
3.Baldege HCIII
4.Cwero HCIII
5.Laroo HCIII
6.Pabwo HCIII
7.Patiko HCIII
8.Awach HCIV
AMURU DISTRICT
1.Bibia HCIII
2.Kaladima HCIII
3.Lacor Amur HCIII
4.Lacor Pabbo HCIII
5.Olwal HCIII
6.Pabbo HCIII Govt
7.Labongogali HCIII
8.Otwee HCIII
9.Pawel HCIII
10. Atiak HCIV
NWOYA DISTRICT
1.Anaka General Hospital
2.Alero HCIII
3.Koch Goma HCIII
4.Koch Lii HCIII
5.Purongo HCIII
OMORO DISTRICT
1.Lalogi HCIV
2.Bobi HCIII
3.Lacor Opit HCIII
4.Lanenober HCIII
5.Lapainat HCIII
6.Odek HCIII
7.Ongako HCIII
8.Loyoajonga HCIII
