In September 2019, Lacor in partnership with Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative – ARLPI and Comrades of Pearl Africa set a four months’ time-frame within which to raise the required funds. This time elapsed in January 2020, with only 70 million Shillings in the kitty.
Low cash contributions are slowing the ambitious drive to raise 3.1 billion Shillings for the procurement of a high resolution 128 slices Computerized Tomography (CT) scan machine at St Mary’s Hospital, Lacor in Gulu district.
The equipment is expected to ease the diagnosis of illnesses such as muscle and bone disorders; tumours and fractures. The CT scan identifies the location of a tumour and other infections or blood clots to guide medical procedures to be performed.
The absence of the machine is straining patients in Acholi and the areas of Karamoja, Lango, Teso and West Nile sub-regions, whose main point of referral is Lacor Hospital. Currently, a patient spends up to 1.5 million Shillings to hire ambulance services from Gulu to Kampala to access CT scan services.
Doctors say that only 30 per cent of patients requiring CT scan service in the greater north can afford to get the service in Kampala.
In September 2019, Lacor in partnership with Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative – ARLPI and Comrades of Pearl Africa set a four months’ time-frame within which to raise the required funds. This time elapsed in January 2020, with only 70 million Shillings in the kitty.
John Bosco Uhuru, the General Secretary of the Central Organizing Committee for the drive says that more than 60 million Shillings has been collected as contributions from individuals and some corporate organizations.
According to Uhuru, the Chairperson of the Committee, Bishop John Baptist Odama of Gulu Archdiocese also wrote to 16 foreign embassies in the country requesting for financial contributions but has not yet yielded as anticipated.
Last month, the committee fundraised at market places, trading centres and public gatherings in Kitgum and Lira Districts and collected seven and nine million Shillings respectively. The team also plans to roll out the fundraising drive to Karamoja and West Nile regions in the coming months.
The Deputy Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo advised that the Committee, in collaboration with local leaders should consider strategies to mobilize and engage all households in Acholi to contribute just 500 Shillings towards the cause.
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Meanwhile, the Lacor Hospital’s Director, Dr Cyprian Opira says that there is already a team of experts who can operate the machine once it is purchased and installed, subject to the availability of funds.
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A 2017/2018 Uganda Annual Health Sector Performance report indicates there are 17 CT scan machines in the country, out of which 13 are distributed across Kampala while two are in Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital, and the other two are at Cure and Mt. Elgon Hospitals in Mbale, Eastern Uganda.
Story by Dominic Ochola
