Residents of Mityana District are benefiting from free medical consultations, treatment and medicines through a health camp organised by Direct Aid in partnership with local health facilities and leaders.
The initiative is aimed at bringing healthcare services closer to communities and easing the burden on residents who struggle to access medical care.
The camp was launched at Kalangaalo Health Centre III, with Mityana District Woman MP and Minister of Lands Judith Nabakooba urging residents to take advantage of the opportunity to undergo medical examinations and seek treatment.
MNabakooba thanked Direct Aid for extending the free services to the district, saying the initiative would help residents access healthcare without incurring the usual costs.
She also revealed that she had asked President Museveni to elevate Kyantungu, Ssekanyonyi and Mwera health centres into community hospitals to improve access to healthcare services.
“We asked the President to elevate our health centres and once this is done, residents will not have to travel to Mityana General Hospital unless it is necessary,” she said.
Nabakooba pledged to continue lobbying the Ministry of Health and National Medical Stores (NMS) to increase medicine supplies to health facilities, citing the growing number of patients seeking treatment.
“We realise that because of the high patient numbers, our health facilities sometimes run out of medicines before the expected time,” she said.
She added that statistics on patient attendance at different health facilities would be used to support requests for additional medicine supplies from the Ministry of Health.
Kalangaalo Health Centre III officer in charge, Angela Nagawa, commended Nabakooba for lobbying Direct Aid to extend free medical services to residents across different sub-counties.
“Thank you for having a good working relationship with people. It is through your energy and efforts that our people are receiving free medicines today,” she said.
Nagawa also appreciated residents for turning up in large numbers, saying their participation demonstrated willingness to embrace healthcare services and could encourage development partners to continue supporting similar initiatives.
She urged residents experiencing health challenges to inform medical workers so they could be examined and given appropriate treatment.
However, Ms Nagawa raised concern over understaffing and medicine shortages at the facility, saying the challenges affect service delivery despite the health centre’s upgraded status.
In response, Nabakooba pledged to engage the Health Service Commission to ensure Mityana District benefits from the forthcoming mass recruitment of health workers.
She also called on district leaders and the District Service Commission to prioritise filling vacant positions in the health sector to improve service delivery.
The health camp began in Malangala Sub-county before moving to Bulera and Kalangaalo. It is expected to extend to other parts of the district.
