Country case report Uganda.

Abstract

Health status indicators for Uganda are poor partly because of the repercussions of the historical conflicts. Poverty among the population is high. According to the Burden of Disease study done in 1995, over 75% of the life years lost due to premature death were due to ten preventable diseases. Government of Uganda, in collaboration with the Development Partners, has evolved a number of strategies to address priority concerns in the Health Sector. In 1999 a 10-year National Health Policy (NHP) was adopted together with the development of a five year Health Sector Strategic Plan (HSSP) to guide the implementation of the NHP. The NHP and the HSSP guide the current structure of the health services in the country, including the hospital services. However the focus in the reform process has been on primary health care but the hospitals have not been given sufficient attention. This country report concludes that the resources available for the health services in the country are very limited and the biggest challenge is to get the most out of these scanty resources. A further challenge identified is the need also to bring the hospitals in the mainstreamed health reform process. There is need for the hospitals to re-orientate themselves and strengthen the promotive and preventive services in addition to curative, rehabilitative and palliatives services. Finally, there is the need to improve access to hospital services as well as the standard of the hospital service.