The ongoing redevelopment of Amaniri Health Centre III in Kuru Sub-county, Yumbe District, has raised hopes among residents who expect improved access to health services that have long been unavailable in the area. For years, residents have been forced to travel long distances—often more than five kilometres—to Yumbe Health Centre IV and Kuru Hospital to access maternal health care, surgical services, and other essential treatment that could not be offered at Amaniri Health Centre III due to inadequate infrastructure.
The facility has operated from a rented house for nearly four years, a situation that severely limited space and service provision. As a result, patients have continued to seek care elsewhere for conditions beyond minor illnesses. Raima Ayikoru, a resident of Amaniri Parish, said the limitations at the facility compelled her to walk about three kilometres to Kuru Hospital and sometimes up to five kilometres to Yumbe Health Centre IV. She said she is hopeful the situation will improve once the redeveloped facility becomes fully operational.
“We get treatment here for malaria and other minor illnesses, but for complicated cases we have to go to Kuru or Yumbe hospitals,” Ayikoru said. In the 2021/2022 financial year, a construction project worth UGX 1,755,275,088 was awarded to Rhema Engineering Company Limited under the Uganda Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers (UgIFT) programme to redevelop Amaniri Health Centre III.
The project, supervised by Yumbe District Local Government, includes an outpatient department, a maternity ward, three staff houses, four two-stance VIP latrines, a placenta pit, and medical waste pits. Mansur Juruga, a resident of Kuru Sub-county, said the community—especially women—has faced persistent challenges in accessing health services. He noted that residents are eagerly waiting for the completion of the project so that additional services can be introduced.
“People here are struggling because the health centre offers limited services. We are hopeful that once construction is complete, services will improve,” Juruga said. Yumbe District Health Officer, Dr. George Angupale Okoboa, acknowledged the difficulties faced by residents due to the current limitations at Amaniri Health Centre III. He said service delivery will significantly improve once construction is completed, as the new infrastructure will allow the facility to offer more comprehensive care.
The need to improve infrastructure at Amaniri Health Centre III was also highlighted in the 2024 Citizen Report on Health Care Delivery in Eight Local Governments of Uganda by the Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (CSBAG). The report recommended infrastructure upgrades to address service delivery challenges.
Yumbe District Local Government adopted the recommendation and included it in its development plans, allocating UGX 64,101,800 in the 2025/2026 financial year budget, as reflected in the district’s Local Government Quarterly Performance Report.
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