Pallisa, Uganda: Pallisa District’s health sector, previously criticised for poor service delivery, corruption, irregular staff attendance and mistreatment of patients, has registered significant improvements following intensified monitoring and training of health workers.
The district’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Alex Felix Majeme, said the transformation has been driven by a series of internally organised workshops, seminars and refresher trainings aimed at reorienting health workers to the core values of their profession.
Majeme explained that the trainings have helped restore professionalism among medical personnel, with patient care now placed at the centre of health service delivery across facilities in the district.
“Patients’ attention is now the focus of every health worker, which is a good gesture for service delivery,” Majeme said.
He added that cases of drug theft—previously a major concern in the district—are steadily declining. “Drug theft is turning into history, but this is not making us relax,” Majeme noted.
The CAO credited the improvements to reforms within the district health department under the leadership of District Health Officer (DHO) Dr Godfrey Mulekwa, saying the department is steadily moving toward achieving its targets.
To verify the reported improvements, the Pallisa Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Majid Dhikusooka, conducted surprise inspections across several health facilities in the district.
Dhikusooka said the monitoring exercise was preceded by random community surveys to collect residents’ views about the services offered at their respective health centres.
“Our monitoring exercise across the four counties of Pallisa District—Kibale, Agule, Pallisa and Gogonyo—focused on evaluating the quality of healthcare and the integrity of government workers at the grassroots level,” Dhikusooka said.
He revealed that the inspection team was divided among officials from his office to ensure wider coverage.
“I assigned my Deputy RDC, Hajjat Aisha Nakusi, to monitor Kibale County, while Assistant RDC Pteack Okia handled Agule County and Assistant RDC Rebecca Babirye covered Pallisa County. I personally monitored Gogonyo County, which is the farthest, covering four health centres,” Dhikusooka explained.
According to the RDC, the findings from the monitoring exercise were largely positive.
“Across the four counties, residents expressed satisfaction with the conduct of medical personnel. Patients confirmed that health workers are no longer extorting money or charging for services that are supposed to be free in government facilities,” he said.
Despite the progress, Dhikusooka noted that several health facilities still face infrastructural challenges that require urgent government intervention.
Among the key gaps identified were lack of perimeter fencing at some health centres, absence of waiting shelters for expectant mothers, and shortages of modern incinerators for safe medical waste disposal.
Meanwhile, Ben Okiria, the LCV-elect for Pallisa District, commended the contribution of nursing students deployed in health facilities across the district.
Okiria said students from institutions such as Alice Anume Memorial Nursing and Midwifery School, Lifespring Nursing School, and Agule Institute of Health Sciences and Management have helped ease the workload on health workers.
He noted that the presence of the trainees has strengthened service delivery by supplementing the limited number of established medical staff.
David Ochwa, the Agule County Member of Parliament and Executive Director of Agule Institute of Health Sciences and Management, said the institute has deployed students across health facilities in Pallisa, Kibuku, Budaka and Butebo districts.
Ochwa explained that the students are helping support the ageing health workforce while gaining practical training experience. “These students are working alongside experienced health workers who are happy to guide them. Their presence is also helping improve service delivery in the facilities where they are deployed,” he said.
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