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BY RICHARD DRASIMAKU AND GOODLUCK MUSINGUZI
TEREGO: MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2024
The construction works to upgrade Uriama Health Center to a grade three health center has hit 85% and is on course to be finished on time.
This is a sh1.4b infrastructure project funded under the Covid-19 preparedness program of the Ministry of Health.
Its completion will enhance health service delivery to the South Sudan refugees and the host community in Terego district.
It includes a 6-bed capacity labour suit and 6-bed capacity postnatal care room in the maternity ward, a 6-bed capacity pediatric ward, general ward, outpatients’ department, and toilets, a placenta pit and laboratory.
This is to add onto the existing facilities built by partners such as Care International that had already allowed Uriama Health Centre to operate at the level of a health center III prior to its official upgrade.
“We are happy with the pace and quality of the work coming up. This facility is going to help cut down the cost of accessing health care, it will cut down cases of maternal deaths and death of infants,” said Denis Candia, the LC2 chairman of Akino parish where the health center is located.
“Our population including the refugees is so big that this actually qualifies to be a health center IV,” he asserted.
Candia said they used to walk 10km to Bileafe dispensary but now they get medicines from next door due to the presence of the health centre.
According to the health center demographic data displayed on the notice board, Uriama Health Centre III has a total catchment population of 26,212 people consisting of both South Sudan refugees and Ugandan nationals.
At least 15,805 refugees attended consultations at the health center OPD from January to November 2024, averaging 1,437 patients per month while 6,560 nationals averaging 596 attended OPD consultations at Uriama Health Center III in the same period.
Candia said both the government and the UNICEF supply medicines to Uriama health center III but the people were disappointed two weeks ago when one health worker, Daglas Onekalit, was arrested with stolen medicines estimated to be worth between sh9m to sh12m.
Onekalit was rescued with serious bruises and detained by the police after surviving lynching by enraged refugees.
This has prompted the residents to demand for increased security and surveillance at the health unit as they fear that stealing such a big quantity of medicines could have been masterminded by an inside racket.
Padrick Mwima, the site engineer of Yangjin construction company that is executing the works disclosed that a perimeter fence to secure the area would be erected as part of the project.
On Saturday, workers were busy furnished the walls inside the buildings as others laid the demarcations for the walkways.
Swadik Idima, a resident of Cina village in Akino parish appealed for more staff to be deployed at Uriama health center in order to reduce the time spent by patients while waiting to be attended.
He thanked the government for upgrading the health center and said that he looks forward to seeing it being equipped fully to help the people.
Idima said apart from the solitary incident of the recent theft, services at Uriama health center have generally been better than at other alternative health centers.
He said this could be due to the presence of humanitarian agencies involved in the refugee assistance service who keep close eye on the performance of the health workers employed by them.
