Koboko health facility that serves three countries
A general view of the entrance to Koboko Hospital. PHOTO/FILE
What you need to know:
- Dr Denis Oloya, the district health officer, says the health facilities in DRC and South Sudan are located far inside their respective countries.
Given its location and proximity to the West Nile borderline, Koboko General Hospital attracts patients from Uganda, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The same health facility also serves the refugees from resettlement camps in the area.
However, the government-aided hospital is not given special consideration in terms of allocation of more resources to enable it to serve the many patient numbers.
The district chairperson, Mr Ashraf Mambo, says the government provides them with funding that matches the district population.
“Government allocates resources according to the known figures. For example, the government, basing on census figures, allocates its resources knowing that the population of Koboko is 266,000 yet on the ground we have more than 400,000 people that we are serving,” he said, adding: “It means the quality of the services that we offer may not be of quality.”
Dr Denis Oloya, the district health officer, says the health facilities in DRC and South Sudan are located far inside their respective countries, leaving Koboko General Hospital to serve the border communities.
Ms Hilda Kawuki, an official from Unicef, says they have been supporting the district to offer services such as nutrition and sanitation.
“For Unicef, we cover everyone in need based on our resources, we work towards solving some of these issues that are presented to Koboko given its unique physical location,” Ms Kawuki says. Adding: “We cover those issues based on our budget even if it’s something like integrated child health care, they tell us that they have this number of children and we come in .”
Dr Oloya proposes that the government gives a special budget consideration to districts at the borderlines since they serve people are not planned for.
Mr Emmanuel Ainebyona, the Health Ministry spokesperson, says this is a policy matter that needs the intervention of the minister. However, the Health Minister, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, did not respond to our queries by press time yesterday.
