MUSEVENI AIDS MAYUGE MOTHER OF TRIPLETS: WHY I AM SAD FOR THIS GESTURE

State House Comptroller Lucy Nakyobe (extreme right) listening Buluba Administrator Sister Sis. Nahumikya Rosemary (extreme left) while the mother of triplets Nansamba Prossy (centre, covering baby) at the delivery of President Museveni’s financial assistance to the family. Nasamba was stuck in hospital after her and husband Aleka Pascal (on crutches, behind his wife) failed to pay hospital bill of 80,000/= at St. Francis Hospital Buluba in Mayuge district.

President Museveni got to know of the family from a story ran in Sunday Vision of May 25 2011. He sent the State House Comptroller to deliver his financial assistance of 3 million shillings on top of clearing hospital bills and other items. He also pledged to help the family with other assistance to support the family in presence of the Hospital Administrator Sister Nahumikya. 

Why I am sad for this gesture 

The president’s supporters fell over themselves in praising him over this gesture. However, I respectfully beg to differ:

What happened was an extreme example of the catastrophic impact of out-of-pocket payments for healthcare. For many poor Ugandans, falling sick is the quickest route to poverty; imagine if the president had not come to the rescue of this family, they would have been forced to sell off their assets like land, cattle, etc.

I take this opportunity to urge The President to expedite the enactment of some form of community health insurance scheme, and also increase the expenditure of health to 15% of the National Budget as agreed in the Abuja commitments. I have written a proposed framework for what I called, “The Uganda Mutual Health Fund” that has the potential to revolutionize healthcare in Uganda.

For so long, the legacy of The President has been questioned by his detractors; reforming the healthcare delivery system would cement his place in history as the “compassionate president”. We can not develop this country when so many of our people are impoverished because they have failed to pay a hospital bill of 80,000/=.