KAMPALA – The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) has said that if the country is to help in upgrading national hospitals to offer good health care services to all Ugandans, all Members of Parliament and Cabinet should be treated from Mulago National Referral Hospital as a must.
This was said by John Kikonyogo, the party deputy spokesperson while addressing media at party headquarters in Najjanankumbi on Monday 25.
Kikonyogo said that the Party is concerned with the declining state of our health care system that he said is now known for death traps.
“This is the reason dignitaries both in government and private sector run to either private clinics or hospitals or abroad for treatment,” said Kikonyogo.
“Even when Dr. Apollo Militon Obote and Idi Amin Dada’s governments have continued to be a measurement of bad government by the NRM, the same had all their children delivered at Mulago Hospital; they were treated from the same facility. In 1969 when Dr. Milton Obote was shot, he was treated at Mulago National Referral Hospital,” he added.
According to FDC, today, even a sweeper in statehouse runs to either Agha khan in Nairobi, South Africa or India for simple headache treatment.
“We have seen Museveni’s daughters chartered for private jets to deliver in Germany, a clear indicator of mistrust in our health care system. Unfortunately, people working in these hospitals are Ugandan trained Medical doctors (Experts) who ran away from Uganda because of poor working conditions and remuneration,” Kikonyogo added.
He gave an example of the late Hon. Hajji Medie Ssozi Kaggwa, the Chairperson of the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) who on November 20 collapsed near Mulago roundabout on his way to work but was rushed to Case Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
“As we mourn the loss of this great man, many questions continue to linger into the minds of many Ugandans on how a person who collapsed at the entrance of the National Referral Hospital (Mulago) but instead was taken by a Doctor who works in the same National referral to a private clinic/ hospital (Case Hospital) for emergency treatment,” he said.
FDC claims that for the last 20 years, the government of Uganda has been spending abnormal sums of money on the treatment of government officials, and their relatives abroad. In the last 3 years, FDC says that the total amount spent on this kind of treatment is UGX377b which they (FDC) suggest would have been utilized in refurbishing Mulago and upgrading regional referrals to International Standards. “This would benefit all Ugandans irrespective of their positions.”
“Also, we should repossess our government land that is opposite Mulago, build housing units for doctors and provide shuttle vehicles from the Housing Units to Mulago Hospital,” Kikonyogo remarked.
