UGANDA, Sembabule | Real Muloodi News | A shortage of land is hindering plans to elevate Sembabule Health Centre IV to a hospital. Authorities say the majority of the three acres of land on which the health centre sits has been encroached on, thus there is not enough space for the hospital.
Since the 1990s, local authorities in Sembabule have advocated to expand Sembabule Health Centre IV, before Sembabule District was even carved out of Masaka District in 1997. Today, Sembabule District’s population has grown to about 296,100 people.
The Lwemiyaga County MP, Mr Theodore Ssekikubo, said, “if we can address the challenge of land, the push for a hospital will be much easier because the district population that seeking medical services from the health centre has since grown.”
The district chairperson, Mr Patrick Nkalubo, shares that the local government is currently processing their tenancy with the Buganda Land Board since the Buganda Kingdom claims ownership of the land in question.
He explained, “as we look for more land, we want to reconcile with the Buganda Kingdom and also withdraw the land case in court. Once we resolve this, it will be easier to secure more land from the kingdom where we can put the hospital project.”
The hospital project is on hold until the local leaders can secure enough land.
Ms Kawooya, the Mawogola West MP, said “this is not time to point figures at those who encroached on the health centre land, but leaders should work towards securing more land that can accommodate the hospital.”
The district currently has two health centre IIs, four health centre IIIs, but only one health centre IV. In Uganda, the national healthcare system works through referrals, so a health centre refers a patient to the next level if it cannot handle the case.
Uganda’s health system is structured such that patients are referred from the Village Health Team (VHT), to the Health Centre II, to the Health Centre III, and then to the Health Centre IV, to a hospital, then moving at the top is the National Referral Hospital in Mulago, Kampala.
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