Pastors call for expanded healthcare services in Ugandan slums
According to Dr Benjamin Kivumbi, the president of Heal the Planet Global Organisation (HTP), expanding government health services in informal settlements would help reduce the financial burden on low-income families and improve access to timely medical treatment.
Bishop Thomson Mugisha, the overseer of Makindye Ssababagalo, President of Heal the Planet Global organisation (HTP), Dr Benjami Kivumbi and Pastor Patience Nassiwa from the Fire World Ministries during a press Conference ahead of the visit of Dr Michelle Corral, Founder and Pastor of Breath of the Spirit Ministry, August 19 2026, in Kampala. (Photo by Wilfred Sanya)
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Pastors have called on the government to expand public health facilities in Ugandan slum communities.
They say limited access to affordable healthcare is forcing vulnerable families to shoulder medical costs they can hardly afford.
According to Dr Benjamin Kivumbi, the president of Heal the Planet Global Organisation (HTP), expanding government health services in informal settlements would help reduce the financial burden on low-income families and improve access to timely medical treatment.
He was speaking at a press conference in Kampala ahead of the third East African Fire Pastors’ Conference in Kampala scheduled for Monday (August 24).
Kivumbi said many poor families living in slum areas struggle to access medical services and are often forced to choose between paying medical bills and meeting other basic needs.
(L-R): Rev. Dr Triumph Ikechukwu, Vice President of the Christian Charismatic delegate from Nigeria, Bishop Thomson Mugisha, the overseer of Makindye Ssababagalo and President of Heal the Planet Global organisation (HTP), Dr Benjami Kivumbi, this during a press Conference ahead of the visit Dr Michelle Corral, Founder and Pastor of Breath of the Spirit Ministry, August 19 2026, in Kampala. (Photo by Wilfred Sanya)
“More government health facilities in the slum areas will ease the cost of living for millions of needy people."
Kivumbi said religious organisations and humanitarian groups could provide temporary assistance through medical camps and other interventions, but sustainable healthcare requires stronger public health services within communities.
Bishop Thomson Mugisha, the Overseer of Makindye Ssabagabago Born Again churches, said religious leaders have a responsibility to guide communities on issues affecting their wellbeing.
“Prayers alone cannot work if people are not healthy,” said Mugisha, urging communities to seek medical attention instead of relying on self-medication.
Dr Triumph Ikechukwu, the vice-president of the Christian Charismatic organisation in Nigeria, said communities should seek medical care while maintaining peaceful relationships and resolving disagreements through dialogue.
Monday's conference will feature, among others, Dr Michelle Corral, president and founder of Breath of Spirit Ministries International in the United States, as the chief guest.
Corral is credited with supporting humanitarian programmes in several countries and has contributed to initiatives not limited to medical care and financing medical camps, but also water security, feeding programmes and refugee response.
For instance, in 2019, she boosted Uganda’s refugee response by donating sh1.3 billion to Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Isingiro district. She also aided Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement and Imvepi Refugee Settlement in West Nile.