Kapchorwa gets health centre

May 24, 2009

THE lives of over 10,000 locals, mainly Sabiny, will change for the better, following the construction of a sh100m health centre II in Grik village, Ngenge sub-county, Kapchorwa district. Actionaid Uganda funded the project.

By Patrick Jaramogi

THE lives of over 10,000 locals, mainly Sabiny, will change for the better, following the construction of a sh100m health centre II in Grik village, Ngenge sub-county, Kapchorwa district. Actionaid Uganda funded the project.

Kapchorwa Woman MP and state minister in charge of privatisation, Rukiya Chekamondo, recently commissioned the centre, located 75km from Kapchorwa town.

Kapchorwa district leaders acknowledged that Grik was, indeed, an abandoned area. Politicians had promised the residents a health centre that they had not delivered.

“While efforts to improve the wellbeing of these communities are ongoing, the challenge is still enormous,” said Charles Busingye, Actionaid’s country director.

“The nearest health unit to this community is at Ngenge sub-county headquarters, 40km away, while the main hospital, in Kapchorwa town, is about 70km away,” he said.

In this north-eastern part of the country, social services such as roads, hospitals and schools are a privilege, not a right.
Actionaid mobilised funds for the construction of the health centre through their partners in the UK, raising £174,608 (shs 618m).

For many years, accessing health services in Grik has been a nightmare.
Pregnant women, children and the critically ill had to be transported over 50km to access medical care.

Joseph Omoding, the area local council chairperson, said: “Maternal care services are non-existent and there is only one health worker, serving the whole community.”

Busingye said the situation had been compounded by the lack of reliable means of transport. With a population of about 14,000, the area has no primary school.

The community comprises settlements in Grik River, Korite, Kapsama, Alalam and Kerekiptari. Statistics show that about 4,000 people in Ngenge community are faced with hunger and starvation.

“Currently, over 75% of the population in the area relies on one rationed meal of posho and beans per day, with over 40% sleeping on empty stomachs on some days,” said Busingye.

The hunger was caused by drought and the fact that there is no established food market. Food prices have escalated due to high demand, with a kilo of beans and maize grain costing sh1,500 and sh900, respectively.

Chekamondo, said: “Grik has been abandoned for long. No NGO operates here apart from Actionaid.” She added that the office of the prime minister does not consider Kapchorwa to have internally displaced persons (IDPS).

“People talk of IDPs of 20 years in the north but ours have been around for over 50 years,” she said. Chekamondo urged the locals to jealously guard the health centre.

The resident district commissioner, Jane Francis Kuka, said Grik had lagged behind due to insecurity imposed upon them by their Karimojong neighbours.
“Now that we have peace, development can resume as people resettle,” she said, urging the Karimojong to live in harmony with the Sabiny.

Area MP Yeko John Kisa (Kween County) said the Government plans to transform Grik using the Peace Recovery and Development Programme.
He said Actionaid was instrumental in supporting Kapchorwa in education, agriculture, health, conflict resolution and peace building.

“I am pleased to note that the cross-border peace meetings with the Pokot and Turkana have began yielding results,” he said.

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