According to the Annual Health Accounts (NHA) findings by the ministry of health, the government spends an average of 3,000UGsh on each Ugandan for medical care.

A patient receives treatment from a health facility in Uganda: COURTESY PHOTO

The findings were based on the expenditures in the health sector of the financial years 2014/15 and 2015/16. The overall expenditures, with household and contributions from donors were however five times higher than the government input into the sector.

The has been a decline in the Uganda’s  expenditures on each citizen’s treatment from $11 (Shs40,700) per year in 2013 to $10 (Shs37,000)  which is just one third of the $34 (Shs126,000) recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the $17 (Shs63,000) minimum by ministry of health.

Therefore, many Ugandans have desisted from accessing medical care from public health facilities and turned to private that offer quality services.

According to the study, one of every two households seeks health services from private providers as opposed to 13.5 who go to public facilities.

Mr Tom Aliti, the Health ministry’s assistant commissioner for planning and development said the growing number of healthcare seekers may trigger hicking of hospital bills in private hospitals in a bid to procure more staff especially doctors.

Former vice president, and presidential adviser on health policy, Dr Specioza Kazibwe, however advised government to stop relaying on donor funds.

“We need to do away with donor mentality. There is nothing for nothing and we are either paying indirectly or paying in-kind; so, let us begin talking about our money,” Dr Kazibwe said as she chaired the results dissemination meeting in Kampala. (Daily monitor: July 25, 2018)