Kanungu – The Minister of Local Government, Hon. Barugahara Balaam Ateenyi, today visited Kanungu HC IV Kataate Hospital Project as part of the ongoing anti-corruption and service delivery tour in the Kigezi Sub-region.
At Kanungu HC IV, Hon. Balaam inspected the maternity wing, out-patient department and the newly branded PPP Centre of Excellence project.
During the inspection, the facility in-charge told the Minister that the hospital is grappling with a critical shortage of beds for mothers who have just given birth – a challenge now common in many HC IVs across the country.
Similar to recent reports from Bulucheke Health Centre IV in Bududa where the facility has only six maternity beds against 6-10 admissions per day and Kiyunga Health Centre IV in Luuka where mothers are forced to sleep on the floor, Kanungu HC IV mothers are forced to share beds or sleep on mattresses on the floor shortly after delivery due to limited space.
The in-charge said the facility conducts several deliveries daily and serves as the main referral centre for lower Health Centres in Kanungu, but the postnatal ward has inadequate beds to accommodate mothers who need to rest for at least 24 hours after childbirth.
“We have inadequate infrastructure as patient numbers rise. We lack enough beds and space, forcing some mothers to sleep on the floor with their newborn babies, which is against proper health practices,” is the same complaint raised by other HC IV in-charges across Uganda.
Hon. Balaam said his anti-corruption tour is intended to “promote accountability and ensure public funds deliver quality infrastructure and better services, including healthcare”.
He promised to engage Kanungu District leadership, the District Health Officer and the Ministry of Health to ensure the bed shortage and the PPP project are fast-tracked.
“Every mother deserves a safe environment in which to give life. We cannot have mothers delivering on beds and then sleeping on the floor. Value for money must be seen in the maternity ward,” Hon. Balaam said.
He also inspected the project documentation for the Kataate Hospital partnership to confirm whether public funds allocated for the facility have been properly utilized, in line with his nationwide Expose the Corrupt campaign.
The Minister is expected to hold a public Baraza in Kanungu later today, where residents will have a chance to raise service delivery concerns directly.
The Kanungu HC IV visit is part of the broader Kigezi tour that has seen interdictions in Ntungamo, Kabale, Rubanda and Kisoro over alleged payroll fraud, poor workmanship and financial loss to government.
