POLITICAL INSTABILITY AND HEALTH SERVICES IN UGANDA, 1972-1997

Abstract

Uganda inherited a socialized medical services system from the British colonial rule. The government through the ministry of health is the main provider of health services in the country. Besides the government, missionary health organizations also provide health services in rural and urban areas of Uganda through cost sharing. Socialized medicine provision is influenced by several factors. The most important factors affecting provision of socialized health services are the prevailing economic and political conditions in the country. This paper examines the relationship between health services provision and political instability in Uganda in the last 25 years (1972-1997). It is argued that political instability and lack of proper planning on the part of the government(s) contributed to the decline in health services. The resurgence and emergence of old and new diseases is one of the indicators of inadequate health services. Malaria, upper and lower respiratory diseases, and measles prevalence and incidences show an upward trend; the outmigration of medical personnel is also indicative of the less than attractive working conditions prevailing in the country. This paper contributes to the literature and calls for the reshaping of priorities in the developing countries’ health research, funding, and decentralization of the health sector.