The government of Uganda has officially commissioned the newly constructed Butiaba Health Center III in Buliisa district.
This health center was built at a cost of 1.2 billion Ugandan shillings comprised of antenatal, female and children wards, a waiting room and staff quarters.
The need for a new health facility arose after the old Butiaba Health Center III was submerged by floods caused by rising water levels in Lake Albert back in 2020.
The floods affected various facilities at the old center, including staff quarters, maternity wards, male and female wards, the store, and the Outpatient Department (OPD).
As a result, health services were temporarily relocated to the former Butiaba sub-county headquarters, which also had limited space for patients and staff.
In response to this challenge, the government embarked on the construction of the new health center after the premier (Nabbanjja) visited Butiaba in 2021.
Area residents and leaders identified 5 acres of land for the new facility, and the government provided 1.2 billion shillings for the construction and Construction works kicked off in April 2022 carried out by the UPDF engineering brigade.
On Friday evening, Robinah Nabbanja, the Prime Minister of Uganda, returned and officially commissioned the new health facility convoyed by Minister for public service, Hon. Muruli Mukasa, area members of parliament and local leaders.
While commissioning the new health facility on Friday evening, Robinah Nabbanja, the prime minister of Uganda tasked health workers at the facility to effectively and promptly avail appropriate health service delivery to the area residents.
Nabbanja challenged residents in the area to embrace disease prevention services as opposed to curative, tasking women to fully utilize the health facility to boost antenatal services. She further instructed the health ministry to immediately equip the health facility with enough drugs and staff.
Residents expressed gratitude for the government’s swift action in addressing health challenges as the new facility is expected to significantly improve health service delivery in Butiaba and its surrounding areas of Walukuba, Nyamukuta, Sonsio and Bugoigo
Fred Lukumu, the Buliisa LCV Chairperson, expressed relief that the new health facility would address the challenges faced by residents in accessing appropriate healthcare.
Norah Bigirwa, the Buliisa woman member of Parliament, highlighted the suffering experienced by patients, especially expectant mothers, when the former premises were submerged. She urged the government to establish and equip more health facilities in the district to accommodate the influx of people working in the oil sector.
Allan Atugonza, the Buliisa member of parliament emphasized the need for an ambulance, given the facility’s distance from the community.
He also called for the recruitment of additional staff to address the current shortage where out of 19 recommended staff, it had only 14.
