Gov't needs to 'wake up' over health system

Sep 14, 2014

The wife of the fallen water ministry director Frank Mugisha Shillingi calls on the government to consider restructuring the Ugandan health system.

 
By Agnes Nantambi
 
KAMPALA - The wife of the fallen Ministry of Water and Environment director Frank Mugisha Shillingi has called on the government to consider restructuring the Ugandan health system as a move to stop flying patients abroad for treatment.
 
Shillingi, one of the longest serving engineers in the ministry, died while being treated in India last week.
 
Having been diagnosed with liver cancer in May this year, the long-serving engineer was flown to the South Asian country for treatment but eventually succumbed to the disease on his second trip there recently.
 
His wife, Lucy Mugisha has said government should “wake up and do something’ about the local health system.
 
In a moving speech at a requiem mass for her husband at Our Lady of St. Jude Naguru Parish on Saturday, she said an end should be put on spending huge sums of money on flying out patients with complicated cases.
 
At the time of his death, Shillingi was being treated at St. Apollo Sagha Hospital in India’s capital New Delhi.
 
“I was surprised to see a number of Ugandans fighting for X-rays in Apollo Sagha Hospital. Why this? We need an Apollo Sagha Hospital in Uganda to handle complicated illnesses,” said Lucy.
 
She told mourners that perhaps her husband would not have died in a foreign country if the health system in Uganda was very good.
 

‘Obedient and dedicated’

 
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At the requiem mass, 3rd Deputy PM Henry Kajura (left) describe the late Shillingi as a devoted man. PHOTO/Agnes Nantambi
 

Tributes flowed for the fallen water ministry director who died at 59, being described by Flavia Munaaba, the State minister for environment as a “hardworking, obedient and dedicated officer”.
 
Besides speaking of him as a very resourceful employee who would meet his targets, the minister told grievers that Shillingi was reported by his supervisor as being a performer over the years.
 
“His delivery has been outstanding. He was a resourceful officer with a lot of initiatives and would work under minimum supervision.”
 
“I have no doubt that death has robbed you of an invaluable asset, very difficult to replace. As you mourn your beloved one, I pray that the Lord provides you with courage to take you through this tying moment,” she said.
 
Henry Kajura, the First Deputy Prime Minister said Shillingi was “a very devoted man, very royal, a great worker who would always do what he was supposed to do in time”.
 
Kajura also delivered President Yoweri Museveni’s condolences saying the contribution of Eng. Shillingi in Uganda “has sunk in the hearts of many and will forever be remembered”.
 
He will be buried on Sunday (today) at the family’s ancestral home in Kituguru Rarambra.
 
Rev Fr Posiano Betungura from Mbarara Diocese, while leading the funeral service, called for more help to the orphans more than praising the deceased.
 
“Laying wreaths on someone’s body doesn’t mean you loved the person,” he said, adding: “Some of you who were his enemies are also praising him, so show the love you had for Shillingi by helping the orphans he has left behind.”
 
The fallen engineer is survived by seven children and a widow.
 
High-profile people attended the requiem mass, including ambassadors, Nile Basin country representatives, judges, government officials, to mention but a few.


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