The facility serves the sub-counties of Rukoki, Hima, Karusandara, Kasese Municipality, Bugoye, and other surrounding areas. The facility attends to more than 200 clients on a daily.
Rukoki
Health Center IV in Kasese District is grappling with inadequate
infrastructure. The main building that housed the labor ward, antenatal care
service, post-natal care center, maternity ward, and HIV/ART clinic was
gutted by fire in 2021.
The facility
serves the sub-counties of Rukoki, Hima, Karusandara, Kasese Municipality, Bugoye,
and other surrounding areas. The facility
attends to more than 200 clients on a daily.
Dr. Kathembo
Joyfred Kayiri, the in-charge says due to lack of space a number of patients,
especially expectant mothers are housed in tents and under trees as they wait
for medical services.
He notes
that they need extra structures at the health centers to handle the increasing
number of patients.
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Kayiri adds
that partners and the District Health Department helped them outsource some equipment
but are inadequate compared to the huge number of patients, they receive
daily.
Moses
Aliguma, who is neighboring the facility wants the government to increase health
funding, saying their area has unique challenges.
“If only
government can elevate our facility to a hospital status and maybe
services can increase and improve,” Aliguma says.
The Minister
of Health Jane Ruth Aceng recently said the government had considered the elevation of
the facility to a district hospital level however she did not reveal when this
will be implemented.
The Rotary
Club of Kasese Snow Peaks and other Partners have organized a marathon meant to
solicit for 170 million Shillings required to renovate the maternity ward to
save mothers and babies.
Fred Kule,
the President Rotary Club of Kasese, says they want to mobilize local residents
to raise resources as they await government.
