The Minister of Health Hon Dr Jane Ruth Aceng has reaffirmed the government commitment to strengthen the primary health sector in the country by empowering community needs to promote good health care.
Minister Aceng said this today while officiating at the commissioning of 210 Community Health Extension Workers at Hotel Riverside in Rukungiri District where she said that the Extension Workers recruitment is in line with Uganda Health Sector Development Plan of improving access to Universal Health Coverage.
The Minister said that the Ministry of Health a traditional community health strategy aimed at accelerating health results on strengthening access to promotive, preventive rehabilitation health and curative care services.
Minister Aceng thanked Rukungiri District Leadership for implementing the Community Health Extension Workers strategy and said that it will go a long way in improving the health living standards of the community.
While speaking at the same event, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health Dr Diana Atwine explained that the Community Health Extension Workers contribute and strengthen the community health systems as part of lager national systems to ensure equitable distribution household centered health care services.
Dr Atwine disclosed that the government is committed to strengthen Health Center IVs across the country so that they can operate like District Hospital.
She thanked Rukungiri District Leadership for careful selection of the Community Healty Extension Workers and pledged total support to ensure that they do their work promptly and also thanked their families for supporting them and assured themon increased payment.
According to District Health Officer Dr Akasiima Mucunguzi, Rukungiri District is the first to implement the Community Health Extension Workers strategy where 210 persons were selected from 105 parishes and trained for 6 month.
Rukungiri District has a total of population of 376,110 people and health services are held through decentralised system with 96 health facilities at different levels of Health Center II, III and IV.
Dr Akasiima Mucunguzi however decried low staffing in these health facilities saying that the staffing gap currently stands at 70% due to inadequate wage allocation from the Central Government and the continued freeze on recruitment which should be looked into so that the staffing can be raised from 28% to 45% to cater for the ever increasing number of patients and population.
He however made it categorically clear that through provision of preventive, promomotive and curative care services there has been good performance in the district health sector.
The trainees were each awarded a certificate of attendance, given a toolbox kit, a uniform and a bicycle to help move from door to door to ensure that they engage the community where they live in health promotion that include sanitation, nutrition, maternal health care and immunisation.
Earlier, Rukungiri District LC 5 Chairperson Geoffrey Kyomukama hailed the Ministry of Health for the programs they run in the district which have ensured good health for the people.
The event was attended by development partners from the USaid, Ministry of Health Officials, District political and technical leaders, spouses, parents and guardians of the Community Health Extension Workers and the media.
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