Medical equipment worth billions idle in regional hospitals

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KAMPALA - Amidst the bustling activities of regional hospitals, medical equipment worth billions sits idle, unused, and overlooked.

This startling revelation emerged during a session of the Public Accounts Committee (Central Government) last week, where representatives from regional referral hospitals—including Moroto, Lira, Fort Portal, Gulu, Kabale, and Arua—testified before Members of Parliament.

The committee, chaired by Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi and vice-chaired by Goreth Namugga (Mawogola South), addressed concerns raised in the auditor general's 2022/23 financial year audit report.

The auditor general identified a troubling trend: unused medical equipment left languishing in hospital corridors, leading to deterioration in functionality. This neglect not only hampers efficient public service delivery but also results in significant financial losses for the government.

For instance, in Lira Hospital, a staggering array of equipment, including seven ICU (intensive care unit) pendants, a BD Bactec FX blood culture machine, a Celldyn Ruby Hematology analyser, an Immucor Echo Lumena blood grouping and cross-matching machine, and a Sysmex SN 550 haematology analyser, lay dormant. An oxygen plant meant to support critical care remains unused, exacerbating the inefficiency plaguing the healthcare facility.

John Stephen Obbo, the hospital's accounting officer, elucidated that the root cause of this equipment's underutilisation stems from persistent government underfunding.

A chronic lack of financial support hampers the hospital's ability to procure essential reagents and develop crucial infrastructure.

Obbo also highlighted the inconsistency in the supply of reagents from the National Medical Stores (NMS), with certain periods experiencing complete shortages, further exacerbating the operational challenges faced by the hospital.

Kabale Regional Referral Hospital director John Filbert Nyeko stated that the Ankole regional workshop is not yet fully established and, as a result, it relies on the Kigezi workshop.|

Dr. Nathan Onyach, the Lira Regional Referral Hospital Director, and Peter Okello Odeke, the Principal Hospital Administrator before the Public Accounts Committee over audit queries, June 5, 2025. (All Photos by Maria Wamala)

Both share a budget of sh310 million for all equipment maintenance, which is inadequate.

Additionally, he added that their CT scan is underutilised due to the lack of specialised personnel to interpret the films. Not every doctor is trained to read these films, and they depend on specialists in Mulago Hospital in Kampala.

Stephen Legesi Pande, the hospital director of Moroto Regional Referral Hospital, shed light on an additional challenge regarding maintenance arrangements, revealing that certain equipment had been supplied with an agreement for the supplier to conduct maintenance.

Despite this setback, Pande emphasised the hospital's proactive efforts to ensure that necessary maintenance work was undertaken to address the equipment's operational issues.

In a distressing revelation, it was disclosed that Moroto Hospital and the Karamoja region lack a functional mortuary, with the existing structure deemed unfit even for basic use.

Pande said that the dire situation is compounded by the Karamojong community's reluctance to claim bodies. Consequently, the hospital has had to enlist the services of a contractor equipped with a vehicle to transport abandoned bodies. 

“Urgent measures are imperative to prevent the risk of infections, necessitating prompt burial on municipal council-donated land. Despite highlighting the mortuary as an unfunded priority since 2020, no concrete response or action has been forthcoming, exacerbating the challenges faced by the hospital and the community at large,” he explained.

Susan Amero (Amuria) expressed her disappointment, saying, “It is very unfortunate that the hospital directors have misled us. They come here requesting certain equipment without informing us that they lack the capacity to handle it. Now, they are lamenting about maintenance. What do they want us to do?”

Namugga stated, “The Ministry of Health should be intentional in distributing these machines. It's better not to have them at all than to have non-functional ones consuming hospital space.”