Regional health symposium to check performance gaps

About 250 delegates from the public sector, development agencies, the private sector, faith-based organizations, civil society, and community health stakeholders are expected to attend.

Mbale Regional Referral Hospital is putting final touches ahead of its hosting of the Annual Regional Health Assembly, which will discuss an array of sector performance issues.

The two-day symposium slated for August 14-15, is being organised in partnership in partnership with the USAID's Uganda Health Activity (UHA).

It will run under the theme, “Harnessing Partnerships to Build Resilient Health Systems in Eastern Uganda”.

The organisers say the meet will provide a common platform for reviewing the regional performance of FY2023/2024, discuss implementation gaps, and generate recommendations for performance improvement initiatives for the region.

The assembly will bring together technical and non-technical stakeholders from the Ministry of Health and the 16 districts - and Mbale City - that fall under the hospital's catchment area.

About 250 delegates from the public sector, development agencies, the private sector, faith-based organisations, civil society, and community health stakeholders are expected to attend.

Mbale Hospital director Stephen Obbo said the assembly will allow the health sector to account to the non-technical stakeholders including politicians, community leaders, and the business fraternity as well as mobilize them to support and champion health programs within their communities.

Key discussions will focus on reviewing the previous financial year's health sector performance, assessing the current state of community health, identifying challenges in service delivery, and planning for the upcoming period.

The assembly is a pre-activity for the Ministry of Health-led Joint Review Mission, an annual national-level meeting that relies on feedback from regional assemblies to address real community issues.

Among the key challenges affecting the health sector in the region are the ineffective referral system, extortion, patient neglect claims, and funding-related issues including stock-out of medicines and medical supplies, shortage of blood, staffing gaps, and inadequate infrastructure.

These factors significantly compromise the quality of service delivery leading to avoidable deaths, especially among children and expectant mothers.