Let hospitals agree on immunisation

Photo by Rachel Mabala

What you need to know:

The issue: Immunisation.
Our view: The immunisation of children by private hospitals should be considered as a corporate social responsibility to communities. We believe you can offer this service and still stay in business.

The government and private hospitals have disagreed on rather a small issue that is set to cost lives that is if it has not already.


The issue at hand is the failure to agree on between Shs1,000 to Shs30,000 that private hospital ask from guardians to immunise children, which government thinks is ridiculous to charge since vaccines are supplied to private hospital at zero cost.


That disagreement, as we reported in these pages on Monday, has resulted into the 140 private hospitals suspending immunisation in their facilities, a decision that was taken under their umbrella body, the Uganda National Association of Private Hospitals, about two months ago.
They argue that fees being charged are meant to cater for electricity and paying off employees involved in immunisation exercise.

Vaccination of children against the six killer diseases, including Tuberculosis, poliomyelitis, whooping cough, diphtherias, tetanus and measles has proven successful with many children growing without abnormalities and growing as healthy babies. This is the dream of every parent and child. It is our hope that the same continues.


As of 2014, Uganda’s immunisation coverage had hit 98 per cent coverage, an achievement that can be attributed to a number of factors, including the financial support from Global Alliance for Vaccines Initiatives (GAVI).


This means that any disruptions in immunisation schedules of the killer diseases may turnout detrimental to not only those people in government hospitals, but also private ones.


These are brothers and sister. It is disturbing that government and hospitals have failed to agree on this matter. Private hospitals in many cases are nearer to people, have better customer care, less congested among other factors which baits many people to immunising their infants there.
We argue private hospitals to reconsider their stand. Those children being turned away will eventually be your employees as doctors, nurses or even administers. How will you look at them crippled yet you have the power to stop this?


In our view, offering immunisation by private hospitals should be considered as a corporate social responsibility to communities. We believe you can offer this service and still stay in business. Remember, companies do spend hundreds of millions if not billions depending on their size, in giving back to society.


Also our women have a high fertility rate, we doubt if there are private facilities that pay particular workers only to immunize children. A healthy population benefits all us.