Ntungamo, Uganda: Shock and outrage last week gripped Ntungamo District after health workers accidentally administered a powerful anticonvulsant drug to schoolchildren instead of a deworming tablet, leaving at least 100 pupils hospitalized during a government health outreach.
The disturbing incident occurred on Thursday, October 30, 2025, at Kajumbajumba Primary School in Kyafoora Parish, Rugarama North Subcounty, during the Ministry of Health’s Integrated Child Health Days (ICHD) exercise.
According to the Ministry of Health, the medical team from Kyafoora Health Centre II mistakenly gave the children Phenobarbitone, a drug used to treat epilepsy, instead of Albendazole, which is normally used for deworming. The mix-up reportedly stemmed from confusion between medicine tins.
“The ICHD activity that was conducted in Kajumbajumba Primary School, located in Kyafoora Parish, Rugarama North Subcounty, Ntungamo District, reached a total of 340 children. It was delivered by a district health team comprising an enrolled nurse, enrolled midwife and nursing assistant attached to the Kyafoora Health Centre II,” the press statement signed by Dr Daniel Kyabayinze on behalf of the Director General Health Services at the Ministry, read on Tuesday.
The team, according to the Ministry statement, is said to have mistakenly administered a medicine called Phenobarbitone, which is used as an anticonvulsant to control epileptic seizures, instead of albendazole, which is used for deworming.
“The error resulted from a mix-up of medicine tins, leading to the accidental selection of the wrong medicine. The known side effects of Phenobarbitone are: sleepiness, vomiting, drowsiness, headache, dizziness, slow speech and constipation.”
As a result, over 100 pupils were rushed to Itojo General Hospital, Rwashamaire Health Centre IV, and Rubaare Health Centre IV for urgent treatment. “Health officials confirmed that all affected children were stabilized and discharged, but the incident has triggered widespread anger and renewed scrutiny of Uganda’s health supervision systems.”
The Ministry admitted to the error in the deworming exercise and promised disciplinary action against the culpable officers. “A comprehensive investigation team has been instituted to establish the circumstances that led to this unfortunate incident. The health workers and support staff involved in this gross error will be held accountable, and appropriate disciplinary and corrective actions will be taken immediately.
“The Ministry of Health deeply regrets this incident and extends heartfelt apologies to all affected children, parents, and families. The safety and wellbeing of all Ugandans, especially children, remain our top priority,” Dr Daniel Kyabayinze emphasized.
Public outrage
But the Ministry’s apology has done little to quell public anger, with critics accusing the government of negligence and poor oversight in rural health programs.
“How can trained medical workers fail to distinguish an epilepsy drug from a deworming tablet? This shows a deeper problem in Uganda’s drug handling and supervision chain,” a parent at Kajumbajumba Primary School lamented.
“This is what happens when the recruitment process stops considering merit and resorts to who bribes better. Qualified Ugandans are jobless and now unqualified people are now handling health matters,” one Kaggwa Denis commented on X.
“Was the confusion between Phenobarbital and Albendazole or Mebendazole? If it was Albendazole, it’s hard to understand how a 30 mg Phenobarbital tablet could be mistaken for a much larger 400 mg Albendazole tablet,” another user, Daudi Zziwa, commented, adding “Please retract this statement and clarify what exactly happened.”
“But each drug is duly labelled like those ampoules have the drug names so if it was just a one patient we can call it a mistake but more than one it’s not a mistake it’s the providers to be checked even wen ur give a drug to administer b4 u administer it u have to check it well,” Lwengoz finest commented.
The Integrated Child Health Days (ICHD), held twice a year in April and October, are meant to deliver essential child and maternal health services, including Vitamin A supplementation, deworming, immunization, and health education.
Public health advocates have now called for a nationwide audit of medical supply handling and mandatory refresher training for community health workers, warning that such incidents erode public trust in government health programs.
Meanwhile, the Ministry has vowed to strengthen quality control and field supervision in all outreach activities to ensure such an error never occurs again. “All future health outreach and immunization activities will continue safely under strengthened oversight and quality assurance measures,” the Ministry said.
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