The Ministry of Health has entered into a partnership with the Federation of Private Health Professionals (FPHP) in an effort to extend immunisation services to more people especially those who predominantly use private health facilities.
Under a new collaboration, after which the the programme is expected to be rolled out to other districts.
Apart from training health providers in private facilities, the Ministry of Health has entered an agreement with FPHP to provide at least 100 refrigerators to hospitals in Kampala and 1000 vaccine-carriers to smaller private health centres around the five divisions of Kampala.
Code-named as Reach Every Child Private Sector Initiative, Aceng said that the programme is targetin all the 2000 registered and licensed PHP facilities in Kampala including Day care clinics, in-patient facilities, nursing homes, domiciliary units, maternity homes and hospitals.
Aceng noted that the agreement binds private health providers to immunise children free of charge.
Dr. Harold Bisase, the President of FPHP, noted that the involvement of private sector is a realisation of the integral role they play in the health sector especially given the fact that as many as 56% of Ugandans are known to be getting health services from private health facilities.
The partnership is one of the new projects funded by GAVI that followed the lifting of a funding ban by the Alliance because of a massive corruption scandal that saw a suspension of the programme for some years.
GAVI suspended its activities in Uganda following revelations that top leaders including the Ministers of Health at the time had mismanaged millions of shillings that had been meant for immunisation services.
Aceng noted however that under a new arrangement, GAVI has come out with very strict measures such as sending money directly to beneficiary entities such as districts in order to remove several layers of people handling the money which opened the door to abuse.
