Government has introduced a new reform in the health sector to uplift the status of health centre IVs to community hospitals.

This was revealed by the Prime Minister, Robinah Nabbanja during the plenary sitting on Thursday, 08 August 2024, chaired by Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa.

“Based on the Ministry of Health Draft National Health Policy 2024, Government has introduced a reform of upgrading the status of health centre IVs with 24 bed capacity to community hospitals with 60 bed capacity,” Nabbanja said.

She added, “this will be undertaken in a phased manner prioritising health centre IVs with high catchment population, and 135 constituencies without health centre IVs based on geographical access, population coverage and resource availability”.

Nabbanja was responding to a question raised by Omoro County Member of Parliament, Hon. Andrew Ojok, who inquired of the updates on the presidential directive to construct a hospital in each district.

She said the move to construct community hospitals will save the country high costs required to construct a general hospital in each of the 82 districts without a hospital, noting that the estimated cost of construction and equipping a general hospital is Shs 70 billion.

On the other hand, the estimated cost of constructing and equipping a community hospital is Shs 12 billion, according the Premier.

Additionally, to fully operationalise a general hospital, government will require recurrent costs including wage, non-wage, medicines and health supplies estimated at Shs 12.238 billion per annum, yet Shs 4 billion will be the annual recurrent costs to operationalize a community hospital,” said Nabbanja.

She also revealed that 381 health centre IIs have been uplifted to health centre III status since Financial Year 2018/2019 and that 87 percent of sub-counties and town councils have a functional health centre III.

Another 31 health centre IIIs are under construction. Shs 4 billion is required to cover the remaining 488 sub counties, Nabbanja said.