Today, on June 15th, 2023, at Kololo Independent Ground, the Minister of Finance Planning and Economic Development, Hon. Matia Kasaija, announced during the budget reading for the financial year 2023/2024 that the government has continued to prioritize access to healthcare for Ugandans.
According to the minister, 381 health centers have been upgraded from health centre IIs to health centre III and a significant number of health centers in Uganda have undergone upgrades from health centre IIIs to health centre IVs.
“These upgrades have been made possible through the Uganda intergovernmental fiscal transfer program (UgIFT). As a result, these health centers are now equipped and functional, providing essential healthcare services to the local population,” Hon. Kasaija stated.
According to the minister, the construction and equipping of 31 new health centre IIIs in sub-counties that previously lacked any health facilities is currently at a 90% completion rate. He added that the national health referral system has been significantly improved with the addition of 143 fully operational intensive care units and 5 high independent units in regional and national referral hospitals throughout the country.
He further stated that the Mulago Super Specialized Hospital and the new state-of-the-art Intensive Care Unit at Uganda Cancer Institute are set to be fully operationalized next year.
“The Mulago Super Specialized Hospital and the new state-of-the-art Intensive Care Unit at Uganda Cancer Institute will be fully operational next year. This development is expected to provide specialized care to all Ugandans and significantly reduce medical referrals abroad,” he stated.
According to the Minister, there are plans to equip all current health centers lVs and health centers llls to provide top-notch medical care to the citizens of Uganda by reinforcing health worker supervision and management to minimize absenteeism.
“After the on-going audit of the payroll the ban on health worker recruitment will be lifted,” he said.
Hon. Kasaija also revealed that the Government will address the concerns of medical interns and senior house officers in the coming weeks as they play a crucial role in supporting the healthcare system.
“I have allocated Shs 22 billion to address the outstanding arrears owed to medical interns and senior house officers. This allocation is intended to cover the financial year ending in June,” he said.
