PAKWACH — Hon. Balaam Barugahara, made an impromptu visit to Pakwach Health Centre IV on, where he commended the facility’s staff for their service delivery but raised concern over critical infrastructure gaps.
The health centre, which serves Pakwach District and parts of neighboring West Nile, handles a high patient turnover daily. Yet during his tour, Hon. Balaam noted that the entire facility operates with just seven inpatient beds.
“It is commendable that the health workers here are doing their best with the limited resources they have,” Hon. Balaam told staff and patients gathered at the facility. “But we must ask ourselves, how can a big health centre IV with very many patients manage with only seven beds? That is a challenge we need to address urgently.”
Health Centre IVs in Uganda are supposed to provide inpatient services, emergency surgery, and laboratory services for a catchment population of about 100,000 people. At Pakwach, the outpatient department and maternity ward were full during the visit, with several patients seated on benches while waiting to be attended to.
The visit took a lighter turn when Hon. Balaam toured the facility’s medical stores. He paused in front of the expansive drug store and joked with the staff.
“This store is bigger than the hospital itself,” he said, drawing laughter from health workers and local leaders who had accompanied him.
Officials quickly clarified that the size of the store was not part of the original government infrastructure. According to the facility in-charge, the store was constructed and equipped privately as a donation by an NGO working in the district to support the supply chain for essential medicines.
“The NGO built this store to help us stock drugs properly and reduce wastage,” the in-charge explained. “That is why it looks much bigger than the wards.”
Hon. Balaam welcomed the support, saying partnerships with NGOs and private partners remain vital for bridging gaps in the health sector.
Beyond the jokes, the minister used the visit to highlight the need for increased government funding to district health facilities. He said he would raise the issue of the bed shortage and overall expansion of Pakwach Health Centre IV in Parliament and with the Ministry of Health.
“We appreciate the donations, we appreciate the hard work of our medical teams, but the core infrastructure must be supported by government,” he said. “Seven beds cannot serve the number of people who come here every day.”
