Apaa health centre wastes away amid land conflicts
Adjumani Resident District Commissioner Peter Data Taban (2nd right) and UWA officials inspect the abandoned Apaa Health Centre II recently. The hospital is located on the contested Apaa land. PHOTO/TOBBIAS JOLLY OWINY
What you need to know:
- More than 50 mothers and children have died in the area due to the limited access to health services, with the majority being pregnant women, babies, and middle-aged children.
The continued closure of Apaa Health Centre II due to conflicts over the land hosting the facility is hampering the provision of services to the population.
The facility is located in Gulu-Gulu Village, an area claimed by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), National Forestry Authority (NFA), and local inhabitants.
The Apaa Health Centre II was constructed by the Amuru District Local Government and became operational in 2006. At the weekend, when our reporter visited the facility, what was left of the nurses’ staff quarters had been taken over by wasps, birds, and bats, with no trace of services and inhabitation.
The remains of medical records, broken window and door panes, damaged drugs and medical equipment, heaps of bat faecal, termite moulds, and falling ceilings and iron sheets are what welcome one upon visiting the facility.
The latrines, water reservoir tanks, pipes, doors, and signposts among other medical supplies have all been broken down or burnt by wildfire set on tall grasses that have eaten up the area.
More than 50 mothers and children have died in the area due to the limited access to health services, with the majority being pregnant women, babies, and middle-aged children.
Ms Florence Lamunu, a mother of two, is among dozens of mothers who lost their children due to the lack of maternal services.
Ms Lamunu, who last year delivered from a clinic in Apaa Trading Centre, said: “Here, they told me to take my child to Gulu after developing complications but since I didn’t have money, she died.”
Mr John Bosco Oyoo, the Local Council Two chairperson of Apaa-Labala West, attributed more than 50 death cases of unborn children and babies to the lack of better maternal health services in the area.
Mr Raphael Akena, a nursing assistant, who was threatened with arrest by armed UWA personnel who stormed Apaa Health Centre II on October 25, 2008, said the area continues to face unprecedented health challenges.
However, Mr Galdinus Okwonga, the Amuru acting district health officer, declined to comment on the matter on account that the Apaa issues are beyond his mandate.
“Now, the issue of Apaa is above my jurisdiction,” Dr Okwonga said before hanging up.
Women sit outside a burnt house after tribal clashes occurred between the Acholi and Madi in 2017. Photo / Patrick Okaba
Mr Richard Okwera, the Amuru District deputy speaker, wants the government to make Apaa an autonomous area under the central government and resume offering social services as it undertakes its investigations.
Loss
More than 50 mothers and children have died in the area due to the limited access to health services, with the majority being pregnant women, babies, and middle-aged children.
