By Walimbwa Moses
Members of Parliament have called on Government to urgently address staffing shortages in health facilities across the country, warning that newly upgraded and constructed health centres cannot deliver quality services without adequate health workers.
The call followed a statement by the Minister of Health, Dr. Chris Baryomunsi, on the progress and impact of the Uganda Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers (UgIFT) health infrastructure programme and the proposed second phase, UgIFT 2.
Presenting the statement on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, during a sitting chaired by Speaker of Parliament Jacob Marksons Oboth, Baryomunsi said the programme had significantly expanded access to health services, particularly in areas that previously had limited or no health facilities.
According to the minister, 373 Health Centre IIIs have been established through the upgrading of existing Health Centre IIs and construction of new facilities in sub-counties that previously had no health facility.
“This represents a major investment in bringing health services closer to the population and addressing historical geographical inequities in access to healthcare,” Baryomunsi said.
He added that the proportion of sub-counties with access to a Health Centre III had increased from 61 per cent to 78 per cent.
The minister said the World Bank had provided Shs453 billion towards the upgrading, construction and equipping of health facilities, while Government had contributed Shs270 billion for the maintenance and repair of buildings and equipment.
Baryomunsi also reported that 4,628 health workers had been recruited during the programme period.
However, legislators said the expansion of health infrastructure must be matched with adequate staffing if the investment is to translate into better services for Ugandans.
Soroti District Woman MP, Hon. Anna Adeke, called for an audit by the Office of the Auditor General to establish the exact number of UgIFT facilities that are non-functional and determine what is required to make them operational.
Adeke also urged the Ministries of Finance and Public Service to consider a special human-resource arrangement for UgIFT facilities so that local governments can recruit workers when upgraded facilities are ready for use.
“It is a contradiction to build state-of-the-art facilities while maintaining a restrictive recruitment cap on local governments. Many health centres that have been upgraded are currently managed by overstretched nursing assistants or single midwives doing 48-hour shifts,” Adeke said.
Kwania District Woman Representative, Hon. Kenny Auma, said some Health Centre IIs upgraded to Health Centre IIIs were still not operational because of a shortage of key health professionals.
“Most of these health facilities have few nurses and there are no clinical officers. Government needs to recruit more nurses, midwives and clinical officers to work on the patients at those health centres,” Auma said.
The staffing challenge was also highlighted at Entebbe Regional Referral Hospital, where Entebbe Municipality MP Hon. Steven Shyaka said the facility had only 260 staff against an estimated requirement of 1,195.
“Entebbe is an international gateway for our country but when you look at the health facilities, there are few nurses to work on patients. There is no office space for doctors, which affects doctor-patient confidentiality,” Shyaka said.
Shyaka also raised concerns over inadequate supplies of medicines at the facility, adding to the challenges facing health service delivery.
Hon. Peter Okot, DP MP for Tochi County, raised concerns over inadequate electricity access in several sub-counties where UgIFT facilities have been established.
He urged Government to address the power challenge as part of the proposed UgIFT 2 programme, saying functional health facilities require reliable electricity to provide services effectively.
Baryomunsi said UgIFT 2 would focus on strengthening human resources for health, ensuring the availability of essential medicines and supplies, and making health infrastructure sustainable.
Under the proposed programme, the ministry plans to expand, rehabilitate and re-equip 100 dilapidated Health Centre IIIs and provide staff accommodation. Government also plans to establish 50 new Health Centre IIIs and 50 Health Centre IVs in heavily populated hard-to-reach sub-counties.
“At Health Centre IVs, we have had a staffing provision of 49 health workers. In the new structure that has been approved by Government, we shall have 130 health workers, including five medical doctors. We shall also upgrade all Health Centre IVs to community hospitals,” Baryomunsi said.
The minister said he would engage legislators during visits to their constituencies to assess the condition and functionality of health facilities and identify areas requiring further intervention.
The parliamentary debate has therefore shifted attention from simply building health facilities to ensuring that they have the personnel, medicines, electricity and other essential services needed to serve communities effectively.