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President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has asked Ugandans to embrace the available healthcare in the country instead of seeking treatment abroad.

By doing this, it will help to reduce the forex loss of dollars to other countries.

The President made the call during the second Association of Surgeons of Uganda (ASOU) landscape exhibition held at Kololo Independence Grounds on Tuesday.

L-R: The Chief Guest, Minister of Trade, Industry & Cooperatives Hon. Francis Mwebesa, Health Minister Jane Ruth Aceng, the Chairperson of the Health Committe of Parliament Dr. Francis Ayume, health ministry Permanent Secretary Dr. Diana Atwine and the Outgoing President of Association of Surgeons of Uganda Prof. Frank Asiimwe at the annual Surgical Scientific Conference and 2nd Edition of the Surgical Landscape Exhibition at Kololo. (Photo by Mpalanyi Ssentongo)

In his speech, which was read by Francis Mwebesa, the Minister of Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives, President Museveni said that medical tourism will soon become history because Uganda has now made significant strides in specialized surgery and treatment.

“I am happy to note that medical procedures like kidney transplants, bone marrow transplants, and neurosurgery can be performed in Uganda. This landscape exhibition is one of the ways of raising public awareness about the availability of surgical services in the country,” President Museveni said.

The President also noted that the Government will continue to provide a conducive environment for training and retaining specialists because good health services enable the population to attain a high life expectancy.

“The NRM considers a healthy and educated population as a pre-condition for building a rich and prosperous nation. The public health strategy of the NRM government is based on disease prevention for example fewer people falling sick by adopting healthy lifestyles. Once the public is aware of the possible sources and causes of diseases, it is easy to reduce the disease burden on our health care system,” President Museveni said.

Doctors exhibiting during the annual Surgical Scientific Conference and 2nd Edition of the Surgical Landscape Exhibition at Kololo. (Photo by Mpalanyi Ssentongo)

In August 2017, the then health state minister, Sarah Opendi, indicated that the government spends sh30b annually on sending ministers, MPs and senior government officers for treatment abroad.

In his speech, Prof Frank Rubabinda Assimwe, the outgoing President of ASOU, asked the Government to increase funding for specialists training in emerging specialized areas of transplant surgery and all subspecialties like Gastro-intestinal, Gynecology, Urology, ENT, Neurosurgery.

“Government should increase the funding of the national health budget from the current 8.9% to at least over 12%. One sure way of closing this funding gap is by setting up the National Health Insurance scheme because a healthy population is a productive and wealthy population,” Prof Assimwe said.

Uganda has over 700 Ugandan doctors specializing in the different fields of medicine with 237 in surgical disciplines.

Dr. Moses Galukande incoming president of the Association of Surgeons of Uganda (ASOU) (left) with the outgoing president Prof Frank Asiimwe. (Photo by Mpalanyi Ssentongo)

From the technology shown at the exhibition, it was clear that Uganda is steadily taking away the need to refer patients abroad and turning the tide to attract patients from beyond Ugandan borders.

In her speech, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, the health minister asked surgeons to make noise about the kind of surgeries they have done and what they are doing because the kind of surgeries they are carrying out these days are top-notch and unique.

“You need to open the eyes of Ugandans to what we are capable of doing and show them the lives you have saved. When you go to London you find doctors advertising their services. You carried out a very complicated surgery and kept quiet. Wake up lay down the colonial spirit of not advertising and speak out. How will my grandmother know that Ugandan surgeons can do open heart surgery?” she asked.

Dr Aceng also asked President Museveni to increase funding to the health sector to improve the health service delivery in the country.

“Our guest who represented President Museveni tell him that we need money not in papers but in cash. When you make the population healthy, they will never bother you,” Dr Aceng said.

Dr Moses Galukande, the president-elect of the Association of Surgeons of Uganda (ASOU). (Photo by Mpalanyi Ssentongo)

The 2017 report of a study conducted in 2,315 households in the country by Tu Tran and colleagues in Uganda, showed that limited access to surgical services was associated with up to “34 percent” of deaths among patients in need of the services.

Dr Moses Galukande, the president-elect of the Association of Surgeons of Uganda (ASOU), also asked the Government to increase funding and investment in technologies for diagnostics intervention and critical care.