The Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, has committed to collaborating with stakeholders to secure a larger health budget, particularly for district health facilities, and to ensure that more medical officers are posted to improve service delivery.
She was officiating at the three-day medical camp focused on screening for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), at Bukedea Comprehensive School in Bukedea District.
Over 3,200 patients benefited from complimentary testing for NCDs, as well as services including blood donation, HIV/AIDS testing, and educational sessions addressing various health-related issues.
Among who is also the Bukedea District Women Member of Parliament highlighted her collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Mulago Hospital Complex, the NCD Alliance, and the Uganda Blood Transfusion Services (UBTS), among other healthcare organizations, to provide this essential service to the residents of Bukedea and neighboring districts, in response to the rising incidence of NCD-related health challenges.
The Chairperson Parliament Health Committee Dr. Joseph Luyonga said they will work along with their speaker in ensuring that the health budget is increased to tackle the challenge of NCDs which are becoming a big problem among most communities’ across the country.
The Parliament Ray Forum of NCDs chairperson Dr Nicholas Kamara noted with concern that the burden of NCDs in the country had become a security problem which calls for concerted efforts to address the challenge before it escalated.
The Director of Public Health at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Daniel Kyabayinza noted that the ministry is working closely with local governments across the country in ensuring that they carry out massive sensitization campaign s about the dangers of NCDs and urged the public to avoid consuming junk foods as they are responsible for the escalation in cases.
The executive director and team leader for the Uganda NCD Alliance Chris Kwizera said they will continue taking their sensitization campaigns among target stakeholders including educational institutions, market spaces, shopping malls and among sports fraternities as well as engaging government in lobbying for increased budgetary allocation to the NCD sector.
“As the lead civil society umbrella body in fighting NCDs in the country we are working with stakeholders to reach out to various communities with strategic messages of encouraging them to avoid reckless lifestyles such as eating fatty foods and Beverages, carry out routine physical exercise as well as going for regular tests for NCDs among others,” he noted.
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) continue to pose a significant challenge in Uganda. For example, health facilities in Uganda reported 74,354 new diabetes cases during the 2009-2010 period, a notable increase from 58,523 cases recorded five years prior, reflecting a 27% rise according to HMIS data from 2009/10.
NCDs can impoverish countries and families, leading to serious socio-economic problems. For instance, annually, one cancer patient requires Ug shs6million for drugs alone to complete the recommended six cycles of treatment (Uganda Cancer Institute). In 2012/13 alone, shs2.5 billion was spent on open surgery and cardiac catheterization of only 2% of the 12,184 heart patients that enrolled at the Uganda Heart Institute (UHI)
The number of health workers adequately trained to prevent, screen and promptly manage NCDs is insufficient. Likewise, the number of health facilities adequately equipped to diagnose and effectively deal with NCDs is also wanting.
