Nabilatuk District is facing a worsening health care crisis, with staffing levels at just 24 percent of the required capacity, forcing residents to travel long distances to access even the most basic medical services.
The acute shortage of health workers and poorly distributed health facilities have left large sections of the population without essential care. In Natirai and Kosike sub-counties, residents have no health services at all, while others trek more than 20 kilometres to reach the nearest facility.
At Lorengedwat Health Centre III, only four medical workers serve a large catchment population. Dr. Peter Lokwang, the Nabilatuk District Health Officer, told URN that the staffing gaps have severely hampered service delivery.
“Staffing rates are at 24 percent, which is far below the average, making it difficult to cover the entire population,” Lokwang said. “Our Health Centre IV has 33 staff out of the required 130, while Health Centre IIIs operate with 11 instead of 55.”
He attributed the crisis to inadequate wage funds that have stalled recruitment of health workers. Lokwang also noted that many health facilities are located far from where people live.
“A big number of the population is unable to access health services due to long distances. Facilities are built along highways, far away from community settlements,” he said, adding that recently established centres such as Sakale Health Centre III need more support to deliver care closer to the people.
Kosike Sub-county currently has no health facility, while Natirai’s centre is situated too far from villages, further limiting access.
Hussein Malunda, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Nabilatuk, acknowledged that the district’s health system is “crippled,” undermining efforts to reduce maternal and infant mortality.
“Human resource gaps are enormous, with the entire district operating with only ten midwives,” Malunda said.
He explained that a recent wage harmonisation exercise revealed a deficit of 63 million shillings in the Primary Health Care wage allocation. Although funds were reallocated from other departments, the shortfall remains critical.
“When we concluded the wage harmonisation, we secured 140 million shillings as a surplus. This enabled us to identify two enrolled nurses and one midwife for recruitment,” Malunda said, noting that the recruitment request has already been submitted.
The crisis in Nabilatuk underscores the urgent need for increased government funding and targeted interventions to address the chronic shortage of health workers and improve access to essential medical services.
