Subsidise artificial limbs
Nov 24, 2008
Not long ago, I went to Mulago orthopedic workshop to have an artificial limb made. I was shocked when I was told that one of the simplest of them costs sh600,000. In the first place for a salary earner with an income not exceeding sh500,000 per month, with the current rising cost of living, it can
Henry Nda’ nga
Not long ago, I went to Mulago orthopedic workshop to have an artificial limb made. I was shocked when I was told that one of the simplest of them costs sh600,000. In the first place for a salary earner with an income not exceeding sh500,000 per month, with the current rising cost of living, it can take two years to save enough money required for just (one) limb operation. Unfortunately in this country loss of limbs is not about to end.
What with road accidents that have adamantly come to stay and all we can do is sit and talk about it. What with the incurable diseases like cancer and diabetes which lead to the loss of limbs at an alarming rate. Loss of limbs can happen to anyone irrespective of their social status and background.
The Government needs to put a health insurance policy in place for its poorly paid workers who find it hard to meet the escalating health and economic costs.
The Government needs to waive off taxes on raw materials for the health industry so that unfortunate victims can either access these limbs cheaply or free of charge from government hospitals.
It is not only limbs that are expensive, but there are other unthinkable costs like if you have to use a wheelchair.
Is there anyone who cares about the poor who want to access healthcare? The other disturbing question is; why is it that government schools, unlike their counterparts in the private sector, have no workman’s compensation? When a government worker (in this case Ministry of Education and Sports staff) gets incapacitated care is thrown to the wind.
It is the duty of Parliament to hotly contest these issues rather than engage in the never ending interpersonal in the house. One wonders what the workers representative in Parliament do. Instead of talking all the workers they only encourage medical workers to strike against the poor use of tax payers money.
The Government needs to look more closely into health policies than it is doing at the moment. As one writer put it, “May God open your eyes to the suffering of the people.â€
he writer is an amputated
secondary school teacher.
Not long ago, I went to Mulago orthopedic workshop to have an artificial limb made. I was shocked when I was told that one of the simplest of them costs sh600,000. In the first place for a salary earner with an income not exceeding sh500,000 per month, with the current rising cost of living, it can take two years to save enough money required for just (one) limb operation. Unfortunately in this country loss of limbs is not about to end.
What with road accidents that have adamantly come to stay and all we can do is sit and talk about it. What with the incurable diseases like cancer and diabetes which lead to the loss of limbs at an alarming rate. Loss of limbs can happen to anyone irrespective of their social status and background.
The Government needs to put a health insurance policy in place for its poorly paid workers who find it hard to meet the escalating health and economic costs.
The Government needs to waive off taxes on raw materials for the health industry so that unfortunate victims can either access these limbs cheaply or free of charge from government hospitals.
It is not only limbs that are expensive, but there are other unthinkable costs like if you have to use a wheelchair.
Is there anyone who cares about the poor who want to access healthcare? The other disturbing question is; why is it that government schools, unlike their counterparts in the private sector, have no workman’s compensation? When a government worker (in this case Ministry of Education and Sports staff) gets incapacitated care is thrown to the wind.
It is the duty of Parliament to hotly contest these issues rather than engage in the never ending interpersonal in the house. One wonders what the workers representative in Parliament do. Instead of talking all the workers they only encourage medical workers to strike against the poor use of tax payers money.
The Government needs to look more closely into health policies than it is doing at the moment. As one writer put it, “May God open your eyes to the suffering of the people.â€
he writer is an amputated
secondary school teacher.