Female patients share ward with males at Bulange Health Center III

It is with great dismay that UGANET learnt of the blatant human rights abuse of people in the community of Bulange sub county in Namutumba district.

During a visit to offer free legal aid services to the communities in the area, UGANET also discovered that the main health facility has only a single ward which is shared by mothers and male patients.

This kind of setting does not only compromise the privacy of patients but is also preventing community members from seeking health services at the 30-year-old hospital, which is also the biggest in the area.

“This is the only available ward. Even if we call it a maternity ward, we also admit male patients here. In some cases, also children have to be admitted here.” Said Nanyingi Christine, a midwife at Bulange health center III.

The ward with a capacity of about ten beds is the same space where people living with HIV are admitted and their drugs are administered there.

“We are a forgotten lot, we have absolutely no privacy and it is very uncomfortable for us to seek services here. We hope government remembers us and constructs more buildings to separate us from male patients when we are admitted.” Said Damalie an HIV positive client who seeks services at the facility.

The hospital equally has very dilapidated structures and lacks some of the essential equipment to have it serve the communities effectively.

A broken health system compromises the quality of life for the people. But also to note, is that it is a major human right abuse for the citizens of a nation to be denied health services in whatever form.

It is against this background that UGANET yet again calls upon political leaders at all levels to create and implement policies that will lead to proper service provision for the people, especially people living with HIV who need specialized treatment and attention due to their vulnerability.