Hoima: Health facilities grappling with shortage of drugs
Areas on the shores of Lake Albert in Hoima are currently facing acute shortage of drugs, a situation that has been attributed to increased migration.
Locals say that the problem has also been escalated by floods and closure of illegal landing sites.
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The standing health centres are now receiving more patients than their capacity forcing many patients to return home without drugs.
Asaba Jacqueline told us she walked 2km from Kyamukwenda Village to seek for medication at Kapapi Health Centre III.
Upon arrival at the health facility, her kids were diagnosed with fever but to her surprise, she was told by the health worker that there was no medicine for her children.
"I was told that my children are sick but there were no drugs for them. I was told to go and buy [the drugs] yet I didn't even have money," Asaba told this reporter.
Asaba said that drug shortage is not a new thing in their area.
Teddy Buringi, a clinical officer at the facility acknowledged the shortage of drugs attributing it to the rise in the number of patients which supersedes its capacity.
"The number of patients we were expecting every month has increased, we used to get around 1300 patients per month, but now we get over 1700 patients and this has affected us," Birungi said.
Since May last year, over 2,000 people have been displaced either by floods or the closure of the landing sites by the military.
They were relocated to the already crowded landing sites a situation that made them vulnerable to opportunistic infections like malaria, cough and urinary tract infections that have seen drugs like paracetamol, amoxyline and anti malarials run out of stock in less than a week after restocking.
Hoima District Heath Officer, Lawrence Tumusiime said they have come up with some mechanisms to tackle the challenges.
"We are now carrying out distribution [of drugs] in low risk and high risk areas," Tumusiime said.
Tumusiime implored the central government to consider supplying more drugs to Hoima to meet the growing demand.
Additional reporting by Jonah Kirabo
