Government regularises PEPFAR supported staff

PIC: The Under Secretary in the health ministry, Ronald Ssegawa Gyagenda (left), speaking during health stakeholders meeting at Hotel Africana, in Kampala. Right is the Senior Human Resource Officer in the Ministry of Health, Godfrey Bagwa. (Credit: Ronnie Kijjambu)

HEALTH | PEPFAR

The Government has regularised trained staff of the the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), to keep them in the health service structure.

The move comes after Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and service beneficiaries decried the low absorption of PEPFAR funded healthcare workers, saying Uganda was at risk of losing critical, well-trained and committed health workers if government does not regularise already trained PEPFAR supported staff.

According to the health ministry, Uganda has about 6,000 PEPFAR supported staff specifically offering healthcare to persons living with HIV/AIDS. They are operating in eight districts, which include Mityana, Kasese, Iganga, Mbarara, Busia, Kanungu and Kalangala.

Most of their contracts were due to expire in March 2018. Mityana district alone has 32 PEPFAR supported staff, and the district (Mityana) has been in panic, fearing serious gaps in service delivery if these workers were not absorbed.

During a high-level stakeholder's dialogue meeting at Hotel Africana on Monday, the ministry's senior human resource officer, Godfrey Bagwa, explained that so far 77 PEPFAR support staff have been absorbed in the health commission and will remain attached to the health facilities where they have been operating.

Since 2012, a total of 3,154 staff have been recruited through the US Government, with support from USG prioritised recruitment and secondment of human resource at different levels of service delivery from central and decentralised level.

The contract was initially for one year, subject to renewal once in anticipation that the government would have put in place mechanisms for absorbing the said health workers. Since then, a number of contracted healthcare workers have been absorbed; others were left out, while others are still on contract basis.

Bagwa told stakeholders from the line ministries of health, public service, local government and finance that government is considering absorbing some health workers after securitising their qualifications and titles.

Bagwa said that his ministry has so far submitted names of 77 workers, whose application has been submitted to the health commission for wages to be submitted.

The Under Secretary of the ministry, Ronald Ssegawa Gyagenda, explained that out of the 127 districts, only 90 still have issues of recruitment, relating to health workers' qualifications.

"The ministry will have to redefine their titles to avoid creating new titles in the ministry mainstream. If we have a position of bodaboda rider in the structure, yet he has qualifications of a lab technician, it is advisable to recruit him," he said.

Uganda has a gap of over 25,000 health care workers
Civil society organisations and service beneficiaries observed that Uganda currently has a human resource gap of over 25,000 healthcare workers.

Gift Maridadi, the business development officer at International Community of Women Living with HIV Eastern Africa (ICWEA), hailed the government for taking the initiative of absorbing the health workers. He said it would strengthen the gains made in the fight against HIV.

PEPFAR partners with Uganda
PEPFAR, through its partnership with Uganda, complemented the Government's effort in addressing the human resources shortage in the health sector as a key partner in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Uganda.

The support was aimed at scaling up HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment interventions in light of the rising HIV prevalence in the country.

PEPFAR, through its implementing partners in Uganda, supported the recruitment of health workers, especially medical officers, pharmacists, dispensers, clinical officers, laboratory technologists, laboratory technicians, laboratory assistants, enrolled nurses, and enrolled midwives for Regional Referral Hospitals, General Hospitals and HC III/IVs.

What others say
Benard Odu, DHO, Lira regional referral, said the plan is opportunistic. He, however, wondered whether it would work out and what will happen if PEPFAR withdrews.