Obongi Health Centre IV is operating with only 32 per cent of its required staff while handling nearly 1,400 deliveries annually, placing additional pressure on the district’s main referral facility.
The health facility, which serves more than 240,000 people in Obongi District and neighbouring areas, conducts approximately 1,388 deliveries each year, including 322 Caesarean sections, according to Dr Tagule Sunday, the Assistant District Health Officer in charge of Maternal and Child Health.
Dr Tagule said the growing demand for services was being compounded by shortages of health workers and modern medical equipment, raising concerns about the facility’s capacity to meet the needs of mothers and newborns.
The challenges were highlighted during the handover of maternal health equipment worth Shs40 million donated to the facility by Stanbic Bank Uganda.
The donation comprises 20 hospital beds, 30 mattresses, two patient monitors and 200 Mama Kits intended to improve maternal and newborn care.
Obongi County Member of Parliament Hassan Kaps Fungaro said the shortage of personnel remained one of the biggest challenges facing the health facility.
“The health centre continues to face a critical shortage of personnel, operating at only 32 per cent of its required staffing levels,” Fungaro said.
He noted that the staffing gap, coupled with inadequate medical equipment, continued to affect service delivery across the district.
The pressure is particularly pronounced in maternal healthcare, with the facility handling hundreds of Caesarean sections annually while receiving referrals from across Obongi District and neighbouring areas.
Stanbic Uganda Holdings Chief Executive Mark Ocitti Ongom said the private sector had a role to play in supporting public health facilities struggling with resource constraints.
“A nation’s social progress cannot be the responsibility of government alone. It depends on government providing leadership, the private sector investing responsibly, and citizens and communities playing their part,” Ocitti said.
He said the donated equipment would help create safer conditions for mothers while improving the working environment for healthcare workers.
“This is a practical investment in dignity: safer deliveries, better patient care and stronger support for the health workers who serve families every day,” he said.
Assistant Resident District Commissioner Eva Kwesiga Nalongo welcomed the donation, describing Obongi as a vulnerable and hard-to-reach district facing significant service delivery challenges.
“We are a vulnerable district and hard to reach, but with support like this from partners like Stanbic, we stand firm that soon this young district will overcome our prevailing challenges,” she said.
She urged healthcare workers and facility administrators to ensure the donated equipment was properly used and maintained to maximise its benefits for patients.
The donation was made under Stanbic Bank’s annual October Love Month community outreach programme and forms part of activities marking the bank’s 35 years of operations in Uganda.
The support is expected to strengthen maternal healthcare services at Obongi Health Centre IV, although the facility’s staffing shortage remains a major challenge requiring further intervention.
