Our healthcare needs urgent attention

SIR — I thank the Ministry of Health for its efforts to improve the quality of healthcare in the country. However, our achievements in the past are likely to be reversed if we are to go by the events of the last four months. no primary healthcare non-wage funds have been disbursed to the health centres (with the exception of hospitals) since December 2005. even the little released before that period has been way below what was budgeted for this financial year. The salaries for those on the conditional pay roll have not been paid since March. This is happening in Kapchorwa and many other districts. These, and many other unpleasant things are happening in the ministry and will definitely make it more difficult than ever before to reach the often elusive health care targets. Not much should be expected of a poorly paid medical worker working under difficult conditions of scarcity of drugs, gloves, syringes and many other things and with no official explanation why this is happening in this vital sector of the country’s social services! The many ill-equipped health centres are scarecrows which act as ‘vote- catchers’ for the usually ill-informed politicians. One need not be a rocket scientist to appreciate that what goes on in these health centres is just a rudimentary type of healthcare. It is extremely demoralising and depressing to the health workers and of course the targeted communities. The beautifully outlined, though in some areas cumbersome, health intervention strategies are not, to the best of my knowledge, being implemented. they are just on paper! Something has to be done urgently. I call upon my fellow countrymen to hold our leaders accountable and to cultivate a culture of concern for and personal responsibility in the running of the affairs of this country.

Name withheld