Health centre built by locals commissioned

What started as a community awareness campaign aimed at calling on the district authorities to extend health services to residents of Lutuula Village in Luweero District whose nearest health facility at the time was about 10km away, came to fulfilment this month with the commissioning of a health centre II built through community mobilisation.

Mr Richard Ssendese, the Lutuula Village chairperson, who now serves as the chairperson of Lutuula Health Centre II management committee, recalls the first village meeting in 2014 when residents raised the concern and need to acquire land to have a health facility constructed.

“During that meeting, we got news from an elder; Mr Abraham Mudebo, who offered one acre piece of land to have the health facility built. The land donation was the starting point for our mobilisation,” he reminisced.
“Lutuula Village which has an estimated population of 800 residents did not turn back after acquiring the land. Each of the families contributed what they could afford including bricks and labour,” he added.
“We rallied some of our politicians to come to our rescue for the noble cause. The result is what we are witnessing today [health unit],” Mr Ssendese told Daily Monitor last Tuesday.

Ms Fausta Namutebi, a resident and member of the health centre management committee, said the idea to construct a health centre was ignited by a notice from managers of a former coffee store that housed the government health centre II ordering them to vacate the building because it was in bad shape.
“We hastily convened several meetings as residents to find a solution to the problem. We had tried to lobby our district leaders through the Butuntumula Sub-county leadership to consider constructing buildings for the relocation of Lutuula health centre, but failed,” Ms Namutebi revealed.

The residents from the neighbouring villages of Nabuta, Naluvule, Nansaka, Kateela, Luseebwe and Kyambogo joined the campaign because many families from these villages access medical care and treatment at Lutuula health centre.
“We are happy that some of the politicians and well-wishers joined our struggle to build the health centre facility, ” she added.
Mr Mudebo, 84, said the donation was worthwhile because the facility will also benefit his own family members .
“I still have more land to ensure that we have staff units constructed for the medical workers,” he said.

The district has 64 health units, of which 24 are privately owned. The health units are spread across 10 different sub-counties, with three health centre IVs while others are health centre IIIs and IIs.

All these facilities have inadequate structures while many are housed in dilapidated buildings. During a recent tour of the district by Ministry of Health and World Health Organisation officials, government pledged to have two staff units constructed at Bowa Health Centre III in Makulubita Sub-county.

The Director General for Health Services, Dr Henry Mwebesa, said funds will be allocated for the construction of the two staff units to ease the accommodation problem. Medical staff at Bowa Health Centre III currently share the ward with patients.

At Kamira Sub-county, many residents trek more than 15km to access healthcare services at Kamira Health Centre III.
According to Mr Livingstone Kategaya, the former sub-county chairperson, the health care system in the area is still lacking as they have no ambulance vehicle to ease the referral system.