According to the relatives of Barbara Nayebare, 25, who is mentally disturbed, she has been detained at hospital with minimal improvement.

“At first we agreed that we pay shs500,000 and leave the patient at KIU. We paid shs300,000 and remained with balance of shs200,000,” a brother of Nayebare said.

“However after around a month when Nayebare’s father, Charles Atukwase, took the balance to the hospital, they told him the Bill had grown by an extra shs600,000,” the relative said.

However, this turned bad on Saturday when Atukwase could not be allowed to leave the hospital to look for the money.

“He has not food, beddings and he’s also disabled in the leg. So how do they expect him to pay when he’s in hospital with the patient?” the relative wondered.

According to the relative, the patient has not improved and they have plans of relocating her to Butabika.

Efforts to reach the hospital through the number provided on their website were futile as the calls went unanswered.

The facility is owned by tycoon Hassan Basajjabalaba currently vying for the position of chairperson of the National Resistance Movement chairperson of entrepreneurs league.

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Atwine said the government had already trained at least 3,000 CHEWS countrywide, with only 331 in Mayuge and Lira in possession of bicycles donated by World Bicycle Relief and Buffalo Bicycle.

“The bicycle is more relevant now because we are talking about integration of services. So that when the CHEW goes to a household, she does not just talk about HIV and adherence to ARVs, but she is talking about the whole continuum of care,” Atwine said.

“If she finds a pregnant woman, we want to know whether that woman has received malaria prevention therapy, chemo-prophylactic treatment, has attended antenatal care.”

She said the bicycles would be more important “because when you increase mobility, it means that this CHEW will spend less time on the movement and spend more time at household and interact with the people there and reach more households. So these bicycles are doing great work. They are helping us.”

“And we do believe that if we scale up this, if we continue reaching out to more community extension workers and enabling them to move, and as we launch and we commission more staff to go out, we are going to see a drastic drop in all these both communicable and non-communicable diseases.”

Atwine was Wednesday launching a report dubbed, Accelerating Health Access: How Buffalo Bicycles Empower CHEWs in Uganda.

“Evidence shows that community health workers (CHEWS) could save 2 million lives annually and that is a critical role in equalizing health care access and advancing universal health coverage goals,” Atwine said.

“So when governments, donors, are putting the emphasis on these community extension workers, we are driven by conviction that if we continue to grow, if we continue to invest more in the community workers, we’ll be able to achieve the universal health coverage,” she added.

Atwine said since the pilot scheme of giving out bicycles was started a year ago, “we have seen the enthusiasm among the CHEWs to go out and work without hindrance because they have mobility.”

“And that has translated directly into welfare, better welfare of the people, the community, better indicators, reduce disease burden. And so we think this is the way to go. So we really want to thank World Bicycle Relief and Buffalo Bicycle for the support that you have given us. We have seen more households reached and served,” the official noted.

The new report assesses the outcomes of providing 331 Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWs) with purpose-built Buffalo Bicycles across Lira and Mayuge districts.

“The results are clear: bicycles are not just improving mobility—they are catalyzing better healthcare outcomes, expanding service reach, and enhancing the well-being of health workers and their communities,” a media statement by World Bicycle Relief, an NGO, said.

According to the report, CHEWs using Buffalo Bicycles reported a 108% increase in households reached per week while travel time to health facilities dropped by 47%, enabling more timely service delivery.

The report also noted that 71% of CHEWs used their bicycles to transport sick patients—many referring to the bike as their “village ambulance” while the longest distances traveled for work increased by 68%, expanding access to remote communities.

“These findings reinforce what we’ve long known—mobility is not a luxury in healthcare; it’s a lifeline,” said Dave Neiswander, CEO of World Bicycle Relief.

“With Buffalo Bicycles, community health workers can reach more people, respond faster in emergencies, and deliver better care. This is what last-mile health equity looks like.”

The study was conducted one year after the distribution of bicycles in September 2023. It combined quantitative surveys with focus group discussions and key informant interviews, capturing perspectives from CHEWs, supervisors, and community members.

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Here’s a statement by Health Ministry PS, Diana Atwine.

We have confirmed an outbreak of Sudan Ebola Virus Disease in Kampala, Uganda, following verification from three National Reference Laboratories. The index case, a 32 year old male nurse from Mulago NRH, sought treatment at multiple facilities but our rapid response teams are fully deployed, contact tracing is underway, and all necessary measures are in place to contain the situation. We assure the public that we are in full control.

Incase of any suspected case, call us on toll free 0800100066.

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The enforcement arm of NDA found the drugs stored at Ronald Kibalya’s private facility.

Below is the full statement issued by NDA.

Our Intelligence & Enforcement team have arrested Ronald Kibalya Nditusawa, a health worker at Kamuli Hospital with 12 boxes containing 720 tins of ARVs (64,800) doses clearly market government of Uganda not for sale.

He was delivering these for sale in Nansana, Wakiso District.

Mr. Kibalya was arrested with Mwesigwa Moses, Bwambale Walter and Mumbere Godfrey as they tried to move the stolen the drugs from a saloon car (Toyota Primo) Reg No. UBN 848Y.

Since March 2024, NDA has recovered stolen government drugs worth over 2.5billion shillings!

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Opinion: John Dillinger was a celebrated public enemy and the media printed exaggerated accounts of his bravado and colorful personality, and J. Edgar Hoover, director of the Bureau of Investigation (BOI), used Dillinger as a rationale to evolve the BOI into the “Federal Bureau of Investigation” (FBI), developing more sophisticated investigative techniques as weapons against organized crime.

After evading police in four states in USA for almost a year, Dillinger was wounded and went to his father’s home to recover.

When he returned IN chicago he hid in a  brothel owned by Ana Cumpănaș, who later informed authorities of his whereabouts.

On July 22, 1934, local and federal law-enforcement officers closed in on him and was shot.

When he was cornered, he wrote a letter and said ” inside me is a weary heart that could hurt no man and “this is what I get for defending myself !!”

Dillinger had just killed a policeman but wanted the world to think he’s innocent+!!

These and other famous gangster leaders on record like “Two guns Crowley Francis’, Al Capone who is regarded as the world’s most notorious gangster terrorised public but regarded themselves like public benefactors not as criminals.

They carried out charitable programmes and carried out several businesses to disguise their underground ventures like bootlegging, gambling and smuggling.

This month unravelled the criminal activity of Dishonourable MP Denes Sekabira who has been operating a fake luwero nursing and midwifery school and St Denison school of health.

These decade old sham institutions have been churning a fake certificates scheme and awarding them to unsuspecting and naive students .

The trick was announcing half bursaries of nursing courses to those who failed science subjects at senior four by promising them to sit ‘error papers’.

Then when you come , they charge you colossal sums to alter the subjects you failed, withdraw your genuine UNEB certificates which depicts the science subject you failed and proceed to Nasser Road and manufacture for you a new one which reads with the same index number, year and school where you sat but with revised, good and lower aggregates in the subjects you have paid for and done.

Then you’re a qualified nursing student and you start paying your tuition!

At the end of the course, a fake certificate is issued to you in the presence of either the Bishop or senior leaders to give credence to the sham institutions!
They dupe parents and students from Arua , Lira, Luwero to Kisoro!

One student alone has claimed to have paid 9,000,000 to get nothing after a 2 year course of study!

This public enemy resembles a busted gang in Kisenyi which was getting new empty oil jerrycans of different brands with seals and refills them with old engine oil and put back on the market!
On the face of it you may sweep the act as simple fraud but you can imagine how many cars they put at risk and how much money can you lose if someone makes you believe that you have done service whereas some one has replaced “used diesel engine oil” for a petrol car!

When you meet such a gang and organized operator, do you advise that these people are so ingenious that should be assisted with “Myooga money”to start a genuine oil packing industry because there seems to be non in the area?

Sekabira’s gang and accomplices operate an unregistered, nursing school which even goes beyond by faking graduates at a sham graduation, creating a graduation book for a non existent institution and invites public to come and witness without remorse!

Like Al-Capone and Dillinger the gangster leaders still pretend to be innocent and their surrogates claim they’re witch hunted for being in parliament.

Like the arrest of Dillinger and Al capone changed the ‘BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION’ (BOI), these investigations have revealed intriguing findings that is soon changing the policy of Ministry of education approval guidelines and supervision of these very sensitive institutions which touch the core and determine the quality of health services in Uganda and beyond.

There’s going to be a complete overhaul and review of the operations of these institutions because there seems to be very big and hollow gaps government needs to back stop to avoid a recurrence of such embarrassing scenario .

The noose is closing in on the necks of the perpetrators and these phoney schools will be soon, no more.

The writer is the former Luwero District Chairman

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MBARARA: Gender and sexual minorities, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people (LGBTQ+) have a higher relative risk of acquiring HIV than the general population yet face significant barriers to accessing prevention, care, and treatment services due to stigma and criminalization, sources have revealed.

This discrepancy has only worsened in Uganda since lawmakers enacted the Anti-Homosexuality Act in May 2023.

Annita Matsika, a senior health journalist based in Mbarara, notes that in Greater Western Uganda, a region with over 20 million people, there are only two drop-in health clinics known to offer LGBTQ+ people safe and inclusive treatment.

Some providers may not be knowledgeable about LGBTQ+ health issues or may hold biases that can impact the quality of care, according to Matsika. 

This lack of understanding can make individuals hesitant to seek medical assistance, Matsika says, adding that awareness and education are essential. 

“Healthcare providers need to undergo refresher trainings by the Ministry of Health and non-government organizations to increase their competency and understanding of LGBTQ+ health issues to create safe spaces where individuals feel comfortable discussing their health concerns,” she says.

Several health organizations in Uganda are now ramping up efforts to attend to LGBTQ+ people’s health needs by providing resources, capacity building and networking to help individuals find affirming healthcare providers. 

Justus Ampire, the executive director of St. Augustine Community Health Centre in Mbarara City, notes that since the passing of the Anti-Homosexuality Act, LGBTQ+ people are increasingly being harassed and their rights violated by denying them treatment and medication, especially in government facilities.

“We [at St. Augustine] are inclusive, and everyone has a right to receive medical care regardless of their sexual orientation, [but still] our work has been compromised. Patients no longer come like before the Act, or if they are coming, we may not easily identify them because of fear of their safety,” he says.

Ampire is worried LGBTQ+ people are silently suffering and dying of the same diseases for which straight and cisgender people receive free treatment. 

“We are in a dilemma because it was under the watch of the Ministry of Health that the law was passed. To compromise health services is a violation of the [universal] right to access health care in Uganda. Providing health services in Uganda [to LGBTQ+ people] is now a risk. 

“You are not sure whether this person seeking a service is genuinely gay or is a straight person trying to disguise as gay in order to either get you arrested or put you in a trap for your operating license to be revoked or actually to be prosecuted in courts of law because the enforcement officers are looking to show their bosses that they are working,” he says.

Ampire adds that health workers at St. Augustine have put extra measures in place to protect themselves from being criminalized for doing their work because they are operating in a high-risk environment. 

Center management has trained health workers to serve and love everyone regardless of their sexual orientation and implemented community outreaches to serve everyone in their localities.

“The biggest challenge so far since the passing of the AHA is that people are shunning service provision and resorting to bad practices that endanger their lives even more than the law, practices like using liquid soaps and cooking oils instead of lubricants for sex,” he says, adding that lubricants could be available in some pharmacies but extremely expensive. 

”Previously, government has been having lubricants at referral hospital levels and giving to accredited private health facilities to distribute for free which stopped and now people are fearing to go to government facilities because it could be a trap noting that there is a challenge of the interpretation of the law for example distributing lubricants is taken to be as promotion of homosexuality yet its a service,” he says.

Ampire says the Ministry of Health should re-activate key population departments, reassure health workers of their safety, and ensure that everyone gets services regardless of their sexuality. With challenges to the Anti-Homosexuality Act now before Uganda’s Constitutional Court, he hopes it will be overturned.

Eric (not his real name) is a Trans man and community coordinator for the International Community of Women living with HIV/AIDS (ICWEA), the only international network run for and by HIV-positive women in Uganda. Eric says life in Uganda as a trans person is a living Hell. He says that living with HIV and being a trans man is like adding salt to a bad wound.

As an activist, he says he is overwhelmed by the number of gay and trans people who come to him for medical assistance. It is very insecure for LGBTQI+ people to openly and freely discuss with health workers about their health issues due to fear of criminalization, discrimination and persecution, he said. Ever since the [Anti-Homosexuality Act] was passed, some facilities, especially the government ones, have stopped offering services to LGBTQ+ people, and this limits access to quality health care services for them.”

He notes that before the Act, LGBTQ+ people could more easily reach out to health providers for services, but now he does not trust most providers. 

“I have disguised myself in order to get any kind of help. It is hard to disclose my sexuality anymore,” he said. 

Eric says he has tried to reach out to as many LGBTQ+ people about ICWEAs services as he can but that too little is being done to help them.

“I reach so many communities and come across cases that are not in my job description, but as a single person, what can I do to help all these people? Even if I refer them to trusted clinics, many of them do not reach out due to fear. Who is going to help us?” he asks.

The post How Uganda’s healthcare system is failing LGBTQ+ people  appeared first on Daily Secrets.

Tayebwa on Tuesday gave his side of the coin in response to a matter raised by Lucy Akello, the Amuru District Woman MP, who questioned the draft policy on contraceptives for young girls.

He warned the architects of the policy, that legalizing birth control for young girls would be equivalent to legitimizing sexual violence in Uganda. “The devil shouldn’t take hold of anyone’s thoughts to approve birth control for teenagers.”

We pray that the devil doesn’t find his way and such thoughts should never come into the minds of our people because it is giving up,” Tayebwa said.

“That is formalizing defilement. That is clearly saying we have failed. We would rather strengthen the monitoring to ensure that we fight this vice but not legitimize it by giving such services and I am glad it isn’t yet a policy.”

In a separate interview, Mr Tayebwa advised the government to shelve the planned birth control policy and explained that; “The future of our country depends upon the wellbeing of present children. We must protect them against any form of violence and contamination. As a God-fearing nation, this is our obligation.”

Akello asked the Ministry of Health to explain if the age of consent in Uganda has been lowered to 15 years from 18 and if the government is no longer scared of HIV and the effects of contraceptives on bodies of the teenagers.

“Where is that plan coming from, have you done a study to find out the implications of the contraceptives on young girls who haven’t given birth? Even I who have given birth fear those things, what of the young girls? Yes, I fear and don’t use them, I use the natural method. Can you assure us that our children are safe with this policy you are coming up with?” Akello demanded answers.

The State Minister for Primary Health, Margaret Muhanga, struggled to explain the genesis of the policy whilst she claimed that the parliament that the media reports attributed to Mr. Charles Olaro, Director Curative Services at the Ministry of Health were quoted out of context and denied allegations that the Policy has been approved.

“We have so many teenage pregnancies, everyone who is sleeping with these girls knows that they are young and is defiling them, they are being married off to 65-year-old men,” she said.

“So, he suggested that should we lower the age of family planning to 15 years and he was asking the audience. He is a medical doctor, and he weighed the options, let the children get pregnant and die while giving birth, or let them take family planning if they can’t avoid it. Because it is in society. It was just a suggestion; it isn’t yet a policy,” Minister Muhanga said.

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