Shortage of medical supplies at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital

By Shiellah Baryayaka

Patients at Mbarara Regional Referral hospital in Mbarara Western Uganda are being denied life due to the lack of access to medical supplies which has been perpetuated by the legacies of colonial debt. According to Dr Mugisa Chrispus, an intern doctor at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital, the resource envelope of the government is limited, part of the resources the country generates every year are going towards paying the external debt the country has which is making the resources allocated towards hospitals inadequate.

Dr Mugisa’s statement singled out that paying for medical supplies impacts heavily on patients’ financial positions, many of which are poor patients. “When the hospital can not provide certain medical supplies, patients are forced to procure their own medical supplies and some are unable to, which results in some patients losing their lives.”

He added that, “loss of lives due to lack of essential medical supplies doesn’t only reflect the government’s failure to provide but also exposes the acts of the former colonial master, accumulated in the form of colonial debt.’

The legacy of colonialism and slavery robbed the countries in the global south of their human capital and natural resources leaving many global south countries' economic structures weak making them incapable of providing social services like health to their citizens.

Due to a weak economy Uganda is challenged in securing social services like health for its citizens. The country has had to and still has to acquire huge loans from international financial institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

The loans from these financial institutions have to be paid with interest and usually high interest and also certain unusual terms and conditions that are applied to the use of these loans. For example, these financial institutions promote that if these loans are to boost the economy, then governments must do privatisations and also reduce social service expenditure.

The World Bank’s macroeconomic policy has reduced healthcare “a fundamental human right” to a tradable commodity. Under health reforms, the World Bank promoted introduction of user fees as a way of promoting equitable healthcare.

ever this did nothing but rather denied the poor majority access to health care.” exclaimed Dr Mugisa. Shortly after, through political pressure, the World Bank’s policy on introduction of user fees was abolished. Despite abolition of user fees, the government’s preparedness for free healthcare has been questionable.

This is reflected in the statement made by Dr. Mugisa, “we usually receive medical supplies that are supplied at this facility on a quarterly basis by National Medical Stores to public facilities. He added saying “usually these supplies are not enough, they are not adequate to meet the high demand of the patients that we normally receive here”.

Despite Uganda’s gross domestic product increasing each year there is little improvement in the healthcare system and still Uganda’s debt burden continues to grow.

Lack of essential medical supplies doesn’t only put patient’s lives at risk but it also puts their families into catastrophic expenditure, Dr Mugisa Chrispus said. “When we are unable to provide the required medical supplies many of these patients have to seek support from their families and relatives which leads to some of them having to sell their valuable assets, (land, homes) in order to meet the cost of the treatment”

Dr Mugisa ended by saying that because of the high debt burden that we carry every year as a country we need debt cancellation so that the country’s revenue can all be directed towards social services. “I believe what we generate as a country can be able to purchase sufficient medical supplies for our hospitals if our debt is cancelled,” concluded Dr Mugisa Chrispus.