By Nelly Otto
JINJA
Health professionals, the various development partners and other stakeholders in the Busoga sub region have renewed their commitment to enhance on service delivery performance to the people to ensure that residents focus more on productive ventures than wasting valuable time and resources on treatment.
This was resolved during a three-day action-packed Second Busoga Regional Integrated Annual Performance Review Meeting (RJRM) held at Hotel Paradise on the Nile in Jinja City.
The meeting themed ‘Advancing Universal Health Coverage Through Resilient, Effective and Integrated Health System, held from 18th-21st August,2025, was courtesy of the Jinja Regional Referral Hospital (JRRH), World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and other development players.
Participants who included Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs), District Health Officers (DHOs), Principal Health Officers (PHOs), statisticians or biostats, among others were drawn from the 11 district local governments and one city (Jinja) that make up the traditional Busoga.
They observed that although a lot of progress has been registered in serving the population, there are still many gaps ranging from late coming, negligence, negative attitude, lack of client/customer care, absenteeism, theft of drugs, unethical conduct of some personnel which often lead to unfortunate fatalities that could have been avoided.
The issue of drug stock out also came as a critical factor in most facilities where ironically some medicines get expired in the stores because of placing wrong orders to the National Medical Stores (NMS).
NMS is government-owned organization responsible for procuring, storing and distributing human medication and health-related consumable items to government health units across all districts in Uganda.
Established in 1993, NMS with a warehouse in Kajjansi plays a vital role in ensuring that essential medicines and medical supplies reach health care facilities dotted everywhere in Uganda
Addressing the more than 100 member-congregation the JRRH Director Dr Alfred Yayi who was the chief convener reminded them of the not so nice overall performance of the region in health service delivery in the last few financial years from 2021/22 to 2023/24.
In the 2021/22 financial year, Dr Alfred Yayi dropped the disturbing news which ranked Busoga as the 11th with a performance score of 44.5% (below average (out of the 15 regions in Uganda.
The trend did not improve any better because Busoga again slid lower to the 13th and 14th position in the subsequent 2022/23 and 2023/24 financial years respectively.
He attributed the dismal performance to untapped potential in health service delivery in the government, private sector, partner and Busoga Kingdom, among others.
Dr Yayi also noted that some districts are grossly underperforming while missing critical services like regional blood bank for Busoga and capacity and performance of the regional Referral Hospital (now improving) which has bolstered the performance of the Busoga
The amiable and soft-speaking Director Alfred Yayi urged the health professionals and stakeholders to up their game for overall improvement of the performance of the region in the regional and national League table.
On a positive note, Dr Alfred Yayi informed the assembly that Jinja Regional Referral Hospital has introduced neurosurgery services with the recruitment of two neurosurgeons.
Commentators says this development marks a critical milestone in the JRRH’s history, mission and vision as well as mandate as neurosurgery services were previously only available at the Kampala capital-based facilities like Mulago National Referral Hospital.
Neurosurgery is a medical specialty that involves surgical procedures to diagnose and treat disorders affecting the brain, spinal cord and nervous system. These procedures are life-saving especially in cases of traumatic brain injuries, strokes and brain tumors.
With the introduction of neurosurgery services at JRRH, Dr Alfred Yayi says patients in the Busoga region will no longer travel to Kampala for specialized care, reducing the risk of complications and improving outcomes.
He stressed that the recruitment of the two neuro surgeons has now enabled the hospital to provide the much-needed services to the community led by the Kyabazinga His Royal Highness William Wilberforce Kadhumbula Nadiope Gabula IV.
In addition to neurosurgery services, the director says JRRH is also set to introduce dialysis services. Dialysis is a medical treatment that filters waste products from the blood when the kidneys are no longer able to perform this function.
“…This service, once in place, will be a lifesaver for patients with kidney failure, providing them with a reliable and accessible treatment…”, Dr Yayi said.
Furthermore, Alfred Yayi told the audience that JRRH has received a mobile TB van, courtesy of the Government of Uganda through the Ministry of Health.
The van is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities for diagnosing, treating and managing tuberculosis.
According to Dr Yayi, the van can move to any health facility in the region providing timely and professional services to patients.
This is seen as a significant step towards improving TB care in the region, enabling health care workers to reach patients in remote and sometimes hard to reach areas including islands and provide them with essential services.
The initiatives demonstrate its commitment to fulfilling its mandate, vision and vision. JRRH’s mission aims to be a regional centre of excellence in providing specialized and general health services, improving the well-being of the people in the Busoga region.
As Prof Michael West, a senior visiting fellow at the King’s Fund and professor of organizational psychology at Lancaster University once said, “compassionate leadership must be at the heart of local, regional and national healthcare efforts to nurture cultures that provide high quality, continually improving, and compassionate care for patients and staff”, the initiatives by the JRRH demonstrate a commitment to providing high quality care.
As its mission, the hospital aims to increase access to quality general and specialized health services for all people in Busoga.
The mandate of the JRRH is to develop and manage its resources to benefit and support those it serves, being upfront and truthful in action and words.
The Ministry of Health’s goal, as outlined in the 2020/21-2025/25 Health Sector Development Plan (HSDP)is to accelerate progress towards Universal Health Coverage, focusing on Primary Health Care to improve health, nutrition and well-being of the Ugandan population by 2025.
The review meetings held quarterly and annually have proven instrumental in evaluating performance and fostering improvement among health workers in various facilities and districts.
Jinja City emerged as overall best followed closely by Kamuli and Jinja District demonstrates the effectiveness of these meetings in driving competition and excellence.
What You Need To Know as Key Takeaways:
Improved health Services-The meetings facilitate peer review enabling health workers to sharpen their knowledge and experience e=which eventually enhance service delivery to the community.
Performance Evaluation-Quarterly and annual assessments allow districts to gauge their performance, identify areas for improvement and strive for excellence.
Healthy Competition-The recognition of top performing authorities like Jinja City, Kamuli and Jinja district encourages others to emulate their strategies and improve their services.
The commitment of the districts that did not perform as expected to improve and rise to the top is a positive indicator of the impact of the review meetings which should be embraced and supported.
According to experts, by leveraging these review meetings, health workers and districts can continue to learn from each other, address gaps and weaknesses and strive for excellence.
