Parliament Raises Concern Over Idle Multi-Billion Oxygen Plants in Regional Hospitals

Uganda’s healthcare delivery system is facing serious scrutiny following a parliamentary report that highlights idle oxygen plants and critical medicine stock-outs across several regional referral hospitals.

According to the Committee on Public Accounts (Central Government), oxygen plants valued at billions of shillings in Moroto, Yumbe, and Soroti have remained largely redundant. While presenting the report, Deputy Chairperson Hon. Sarah Lwansasula noted that two oxygen plants at Moroto Hospital, worth Shs3.72 billion, have stayed non-functional for three years. This delay stems from unfinished infrastructure works entrusted to the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) Engineering Brigade.

Similar challenges were uncovered in Yumbe and Soroti hospitals, where incomplete facilities, damaged equipment, and un-serviced plants have severely undermined medical services in underserved areas. The committee criticized these delays as glaring examples of poor contract management by the Ministry of Health and the UPDF Engineering Brigade.

Beyond oxygen infrastructure, the committee’s findings also exposed widespread distribution delays by the National Medical Stores (NMS). Hospitals including Fort Portal, Gulu, Hoima, Kayunga, and Soroti experienced prolonged delivery delays ranging from 27 to 136 days.

Compounding these logistics issues were severe medicine stock-outs and expiries. Soroti Regional Referral Hospital recorded a staggering 400-day stock-out of Darunavir, a vital second-line antiretroviral medicine. Meanwhile, essential drugs expired at other facilities, missing crucial redistribution windows.

To address these systemic failures, the committee has recommended holding responsible officials accountable and fast-tracking the completion and handover of all delayed projects within 60 days of the report’s adoption. Speaker Jacob Marksons Oboth guided the adoption of the report without debate, setting the stage for a government Treasury Memorandum within six months.

Read the full details in the original report from Parliament of Uganda.