We can’t depend on philanthropy

Experts from Duke University in the US are in Uganda carrying out neurosurgery on patients at Mulago National Referral Hospital.

At least 30 patients with brain ailments have a chance to undergo free surgery. A brain surgery would cost as much Shs80 million which is way too much for the majority of poverty-stricken Ugandans but thanks to Prof. Michael Haglund, the leader of the surgical camp, for running these operations on his own funds.

However, we need to ask some critical questions here. For how long should a country run critical health interventions like brain surgery basing on philanthropists? According to Dr Michael Muhumuza, a consultant neurosurgeon at Mulago, the hospital has only four neurosurgeons yet several patients visit the national health facility with head injuries, tumors and congenital anomalies. This implies that Mulago is not equipped to conduct brain surgeries. In other hospitals even the mortuaries are nonfunctional meaning that they will not only suffer while alive but even when they die.
What then are our health priorities if we can’t provide from the bare basics such as mosquito nets and gloves, to specialised cases like brain surgery?

It is absurd that Prof. Haglund can sacrifice his personal resources to give hope to Ugandan patients yet our own government with power to collect taxes cannot equip theatre's with required facilities.
Instead of overstretching Prof. Haglund’s personal purse, scholarships should be awarded to medical students to join, for instance, Duke University to train in brain surgery and then give them tools to practice back home.

Should we depend on philanthropy to build our healthcare system? The best investment should be funding key areas especially those unaffordable to ordinary folks. The government should show with numbers, its investment in specialised health manpower and equipment. The basic ingredients are available locally as most of Ugandan doctors have excelled in places where they have found favourable working conditions.

As of now, most of our health facilities are white horses thus rendering the noble efforts of people like Prof. Haglund, a drop in the ocean. They should be inspiring us to develop local capacity not to rest on our laurels. To start with, someone should explain the ingredients of our health care system because no one if not few know and understand it.