ACHESTs’ Executive Director gave a keynote address at a Symposium on the Successes of Community Participation organized by Goal

Prof. Francis Omaswa giving a keynote speech at the symposium at Piato Restaurant in KampalaProf. Francis Omaswa giving a keynote speech at the symposium at Piato Restaurant in Kampala"The delivery of health services in Uganda is the responsibility of the local government. The ministry of health budgets and parliament approves; the money goes to the districts and it is the role of the local government to ensure that the community health systems initiative works." Prof. Francis Omaswa, the Executive Director of the African Centre for Global Health and Social Transformation (ACHEST) noted this while giving a key note speech at a half day meeting organized by Goal in partnership with ACHEST and HEPS.
The aim of the meeting held on 29th August 2018 at Piato Restaurant in Kampala was to consolidate stakeholder feedback on the draft framework for action from the symposium on the successes of community participation in improving health worker performance.
Primary health care is essential health care based on practical, scientifically sound and socially acceptable methods and technology made universally accessible to individuals and families in the community through their full participation and at a cost that the community and country can afford to maintain at every stage. Vincent Mujuni, the Deputy Programme Director Accountability Can Transform Health Programme (ACT Health) pointed while presenting the draft framework.
Dr. Patrick Kadama, the Director Policy and Practice at ACHEST while making a submission advised that having village registration, a system of people recognition will help the community health workers know who they are serving and who they are accountable to, that way, the health worker performance improvement and community participation will gain a lot of traction.
Dunstan Balaba, the Chief Adminstrative Officer of Tororo district warned that Accountability through Community barazas’ should be to both the people and the government. Attendance to duty alone is not enough, but delivery of quality service is what the people need.
Dr. Enid Mbabazi, a Coordinator at the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) while closing the meeting informed the meeting that OPM is conducting stakeholder identification in a bid to form a Think Tank Lab where institution representatives will come together to find practical solutions for improving health workforce performance through a multi-sectoral approach.
Dr. Richard Mugalu, the District Health Officer (DHO) and the Deputy President of the DHOs noted that the issue of a muti-sectoral approach looks easy in boardrooms, yet it is one of Uganda’s problems and if not perceived well, there is fear that this will be misconstrued and implemented in silos by different sectors that are at different levels.
The meeting will incorporate feedback received into a finalized petition and present to the Chairman of the Parliamentary Forum on Quality of Health Service Delivery for presentation on the floor of parliament.