Residents of Moruita Sub-county in Nakapiripirit District are demanding the upgrade of Moruita Health Centre II to a Health Centre III, citing inadequate maternity services, long-distance referrals and growing demand for healthcare.
The residents say upgrading the facility would bring essential services closer to the community and reduce the need to travel to Nakapiripirit Town for treatment.
Esther Napeyok, a resident of Moruita, said the upgrade would ease the burden on patients who are referred to facilities outside the sub-county.
"Upgrading Moruita Health Centre II to Health Centre III will save us from referrals and the long distances we have to travel to Nakapiripirit Town to access health services," Napeyok said.
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Residents also raised concerns about inadequate maternity services, saying the health centre has only one delivery bed in a small room.
They also raised concerns about alleged encroachment on land belonging to the health centre, prompting district leaders to call for a peaceful resolution of the dispute.
Nakapiripirit District Chairperson Simon Peter Lokiru said he would follow up on the concerns raised by residents and engage relevant authorities on the proposed upgrade.
On the land dispute, Lokiru urged local leaders and residents to engage those allegedly occupying the health centre's land and encourage them to leave peacefully.
"We should avoid forceful eviction because it could lead to destruction and conflict," he said.
The concerns were raised during an interface meeting organised by the Women Integrated Development and Empowerment Agency (WIDEA) in partnership with the Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE).
The meeting provided a platform for women's groups, including Teete Farmers Group and Moruita Farmers Women Group, to present findings from their monitoring of public services to district technical staff, heads of departments and officers in charge of the monitored institutions.
It brought together the LC V chairperson, representatives from the Chief Administrative Officer's office, the District Health Office, District Community Development Office, the sub-county administration and the LC III chairperson.
Responding to the concerns, Assistant District Health Officer Molly Risa Putan confirmed the challenges raised by the women's groups and called for action, particularly on the absence of a placenta pit.
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"The concerns raised by the women are valid, and the sub-county should prioritise the construction of a placenta pit in its budget because they have the capacity to address this issue," Putan said.
She said the district would also prioritise improvements to the maternity ward at the facility.
"As a district, we want to prioritise the maternity ward at Moruita Health Centre," she said.
Putan further said the health centre already has enough staff to operate at Health Centre III level if the facility is upgraded.
"The staff currently at the health centre are enough to run a Health Centre III," she said.
