MOH moves to abolish ambulances procured by Members of Parliament
98% of Ugandans have reported not knowing ambulance services in their area with a report showing that the most well-known providers of such services are area members of Parliament.
According to a survey on responding to emergencies done by Twaweza Uganda, whose results were released in August, 2023, only 2% of Ugandans are aware of ambulance services in their area.
Delegates attending the official launch of the baseline survey report on Emergency Medical Services at Hotel Triangle in Mbarara.
The survey which aimed at establishing citizen’s opinions and experiences on emergencies and emergency medical services covered 3,000 respondents through interviews conducted between September and October 2021.
Speaking during the Twaweza brief launch at Hotel Triangle in Mbarara city on Thursday, Marie Nanyazi, the senior program officer at Twaweza revealed that they found out that, one in eight households had experienced an emergency six months before the survey but only one percent of the respondents reported having called an ambulance for help.
However, according to Maria Nansasi Nkalubo, the Principal operations officer at ministry of health, these findings come at a time when the Ministry of Health is revamping emergency medical services in the country having passed a policy with proposals to abolish the kind of ambulances procured by Members of Parliament.
“The government of Uganda recognizes the role of Emergency Medical Services(EMS) and the part it plays in improving universal health care. We want to increase the availability of quality EMS Care by 50% in 2025,” said Nansasi.
Maria Nansasi Nkalubo, the Principal operations officer at MOH speaking during the launch of the baseline survey report on Emergency Medical Services at Hotel Triangle in Mbarara.
Robert Kanusu, the Mbarara city North Deputy Resident city Commissioner appreciated Twaweza for coming up with such a framework which will enable Ugandan’s to get the health services they require.
Twaweza is a Kiswahili word which means ‘we can make it happen’. It is a citizen-centered initiative, enabling citizens to exercise agency and governments to be more open and responsive while focusing on large-scale change in three East African countries; Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda.
