Relief for Hoima mothers as sh590m maternity ward opens

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Health workers and expectant mothers at Karongo Health Centre III in Karongo village, Hoima West division, Hoima city, have received a major boost following the commissioning of a new maternity ward worth sh590 million.

The facility, whose construction began in June 2024 under funding from the World Bank through the Uganda Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers Programme (UgIFT), was officially commissioned and handed over for use on June 2, 2026.

Constructed by the UPDF Engineering Brigade, the maternity ward comprises a labour room, gynaecology ward, postnatal ward, immunisation room, records room, store, prenatal ward, labour suite, sluice room, sterilisation room, duty room, antenatal care room, birth rooms, kangaroo care room and reception area.

Gerald Kyomuhendo, the officer in charge of Karongo Health Centre III, welcomed the development, describing it as a major relief for both health workers and mothers.

He said the facility had been operating with an old maternity ward that was in poor condition and lacked adequate space to serve the growing population.

According to Kyomuhendo, the health centre serves a catchment population of more than 20,000 people but has been relying on a maternity ward capable of handling only one delivery and accommodating only three mothers at a time.

He noted that the facility attends to more than 800 outpatients and about 70 expectant mothers every month despite facing serious infrastructure challenges.

Kyomuhendo said the new maternity ward can handle four deliveries simultaneously and accommodate up to 20 mothers at a time.

He added that the facility will also accommodate 10 children's beds, significantly improving maternal and child healthcare services.

Hoima city mayor Edward Isingoma commended government for funding the project, saying it had come at a critical time when the health centre was experiencing increasing demand for antenatal and maternity services.

He said city leaders have been lobbying for the upgrading of Karongo Health Centre III to Health Centre IV status and expressed optimism that the new maternity ward would strengthen that case.

Isingoma also pledged to continue lobbying for additional health workers and adequate drug supplies to improve service delivery.

While commissioning the facility, Hoima resident city commissioner Badru Mugabi said the maternity ward forms part of broader efforts to upgrade the health centre to health centre IV status.

He noted that the facility is equipped with the amenities required to support safe deliveries and urged communities to utilise the health centre rather than overwhelming Hoima Regional Referral Hospital.

“If these lower health facilities get equipped with all medical amenities to carry out delivery and our mother utilises these facilities, it will reduce the pressure put on Hoima regional referral hospital,” he said.

Mugabi, however, warned health workers against absenteeism, neglect of duty, extortion of patients and harassment, saying such practices undermine service delivery.

Karongo Health Centre III was constructed in 1989 by World Vision when the area's population was still relatively small.

Most of the existing structures are now inadequate and dilapidated, prompting calls for additional government funding to construct more facilities and meet current healthcare standards.

Captain Yunus Ntegeka, the western region project manager at the UPDF Engineering Brigade, said the project would ordinarily have cost between sh700 million and sh800 million, but was completed at a lower cost because the brigade does not pay taxes.

He said the available resources were used efficiently to deliver quality work that meets the required standards.

Ntegeka added that government has allocated an additional sh300 million to the UPDF Engineering Brigade to construct a placenta pit, staff quarters and a four-stance pit latrine at Karongo Health Centre III.