The Minister
of Health, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng has asked parliament to intervene into budget
cuts, which she says are going to make it difficult for the sector to operate
in the next financial year.
Aceng on Thursday appeared before Parliament’s Health Committee that is
currently considering the budget framework paper for the financial year 2022/2023.
She told MPs that entities in the Health Sector are planning budget
cuts, citing 15.6 billion Shillings cut from the Ministry of Health budget, 80
billion from National Medical Stores (NMS), 2.4 billion from Uganda Virus
Research Institute (UVRI), and others.
The other cuts in the sector are 5 Billion Shillings reduced on the Uganda
Heart Institute budget, 750 Million from Uganda Blood Transfusion Services, and
6.8 billion from Mulago National Referral Hospital 6.8 billion Shillings.
Aceng told the committee that the cuts are going to affect their operations.
She asked the MPs to ensure the funding is not reduced.
She said that although the money being cut was previously given as
a supplementary budget, it needs to be maintained so that the activities for
which the funds were availed can continue.
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Recently, a Ministry of Finance official attached to the Health committee,
Nimrod Agasha told MPs that the NMS budget for the coming financial year
2022/2023 had been cut by 80 billion Shillings since the government is expecting a
grant from the World Bank of US Dollars 137 million which will be used for procurement
of Covid-19 vaccines.
In this financial year 2021/2022, parliament appropriated 600 Million Shillings
to NMS and the reduction means that the entity will in the next financial year
2022/2023 receive a total budget of 520 billion Shillings.
Aceng also told MPs that the Ministry has stopped constructing hospitals on
land which is not titled to protect government land from grabbers.
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Yusuf
Nsibambi, the Mawokota South MP asked the Minister not to surrender hospital
land to grabbers and instead asked her to use government surveyors to open up
the land and be able to chase away land grabbers.
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Dr. Charles
Ayume, the Health Committee Chairperson also emphasized the need to immediately
survey and fence off the land.