Legislators have urged government to improve staffing within the health centres across the country noting that it will improve health service delivery to many Ugandans especially in remote areas.
The call is followed a statement by the Health Minister, Hon. Chris Baryomunsi on the status and impact of the Uganda Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers (UgIFT) health infrastructure programme and the proposed framework for UgIFT 2.
While presenting the statement on Wednesday, 02 September 2026 at a sitting chaired by the Speaker Jacob Marksons Oboth, Baryomunsi said 373 Health Centre IIIs have been established under the programme by upgrading existing Health Centre IIs and construction of new facilities in sub-counties that had no health facility at all.
“This represents a major investment in bringing health services closer to the population and addressing historical geographical inequities in access to health care, he said adding that, ’the proportion of sub-counties with access to a Health Centre III has consequently increased from 61 to 78 per cent’.
The minister revealed that the World Bank has provided shs453 billion for upgrade, construction and equipping of health facilities while government has provided shs270 billion for maintenance and repair of buildings and equipment.
Baryomunis said that under the programme period, government has recruited 4,628 health workers.
“At Health Centre IVs, we have had a staffing provision of 49 health workers. In the new structure that has been approved by government, we shall have 130 health workers including five medical doctors. We shall also upgrade all Health Centre IVs to community hospitals,” Baryomunsi said.
He told MPs that UgIFT 2 will focus on strengthening human resource for health, ensuring availability of essential medicines and supplies and making infrastructure sustainable, among other priorities.
“The ministry plans to expand, rehabilitate, re-equip and provide staff accommodation at 100 dilapidated Health Centre IIIs countrywide and establish 50 new Health Centre IIIs and 50 Health Centre IVs in heavily populated hard-to-reach sub-counties,” Baryomunsi added.
Soroti District Woman MP, Hon. Anna Adeke proposed an audit by the Office of the Auditor General to ascertain the exact number of facilities under UgIFT that are non-functional and what needs to be done.
She also proposed UgIFT-specific human resource consideration to revise the wage bill cap for local governments by the Ministries of Finance and Public Service, whenever UgIFT facilities are ready to be operationalised.
“It is a contradiction to build set-of-the art facilities while maintaining a restrictive recruitment cap on local governments. Many health centres that have been upgraded are currently managed by overstretched nursing assistants or single midwives doing 48-hour shifts,” Adeke observed.
Kwania District Woman Representative, Hon. Kenny Auma said that some Health Centre IIs that were upgraded to Health Centre IIIs are not operational due to absence of key health officers.
“Most of these health facilities have few nurses and there are no clinical officers. Government needs to recruit more nurses, midwives and clinical officers to work on the patients at those health centres,” Auma said.
Entebbe Municipality MP, Hon. Steven Shyaka said the Entebbe Referral Hospital has only 260 staff out of the needed 1,195 adding that there are no adequate drug supplies at the facility.
“Entebbe is an international gateway for our country but when you look at the health facilities, there are few nurses to work on patients. There is no office space for doctors which affects the doctor-patient confidentiality,” he said.
Hon. Joseph Ssewungu (NUP, Kalungu County West) urged the ministry to support missionary or religious founded health facilities across the country with the deployment of doctors, nurses and medical supplies, noting that they bolster the existing government health facilities.
Hon. Peter Okot (DP, Tochi County) raised concerns over poor electricity access in many sub-counties where UgIFT health facilities have been established and urged government to counter the challenge in the proposed UgIFT 2 programme.
Baryomunsi committed to engage legislators while visiting their respective constituencies, to ensure a comprehensive assessment of health facilities.
