Operationalize Serere Hospital to Ease Maternal Deaths, Improve Healthcare – Acom Urges Government.

By Peterson Hiirya.

Calls to urgently operationalize Serere Health Centre IV into a fully functional District hospital have intensified, with leaders saying the move offers the most immediate solution to persistent maternal deaths, overcrowded health facilities, and long journeys patients make in search of specialized medical care.

Serere District Woman Member of Parliament Esther Lucy Acom renewed the appeal during the burial of the late Rev. Mesilam Abilet, grandfather to Serere County MP Emmanuel Omoding.

The funeral was attended by the State Minister for Teso Affairs, Members of Parliament, religious leaders, and local government officials from across the Teso sub-region.

Acom said despite the government’s 2025 commitment to upgrade Serere Health Centre IV into a Community Hospital under the Uganda Essential Health Care Package 2024, implementation has remained slow, leaving thousands of residents without adequate healthcare services.

She noted that Serere’s growing population can no longer be effectively served by the existing Health Centre IV and called for the immediate completion, equipping, staffing, and operationalization of the facility.

“Most of our people still run to Soroti Regional Referral Hospital for healthcare. However, I believe Soroti Regional Referral Hospital will be decongested if we operationalize the hospital in Serere,” Acom said.

She urged the Ministry of Health, fellow leaders, and other government agencies to work together to ensure the long-awaited project is completed and begins serving the people.

Acom’s appeal comes months after the Ministry of Health, through Permanent Secretary Dr. Diana Atwine confirmed in March 2025 that Health Centre IVs would gradually be upgraded into Community Hospitals under the Uganda Essential Health Care Package 2024.

The communication followed a request from Serere District to elevate its main health facility to meet increasing healthcare demands, with the ministry indicating that successful implementation could eventually pave the way for General Hospital status.

The district has long argued that its main health facility is overstretched and unable to adequately serve a population estimated at more than 340,000 people.

Many patients continue to travel to Soroti Regional Referral Hospital for services that could be accessed locally if the hospital becomes operational.

Speaking at the same function, Serere District LCV Chairperson Eng. Martine Onguruco described the situation as critical, revealing that maternal deaths continue to occur due to inadequate medical equipment and limited capacity at the health facility.

“These cases of deaths among mothers can only be addressed by the operationalization of the hospital,” Onguruco said, calling for urgent government intervention.

Responding to the concerns, State Minister for Teso Affairs Clement Ongalo Obote acknowledged the delays and assured leaders that the government would intensify follow-up efforts to ensure the facility becomes operational.

“Acom has raised a very important point. We shall support her in following up, and I vow that the hospital will be operationalized,” the minister pledged.

Leaders said operationalizing the hospital would not only ease pressure on Soroti Regional Referral Hospital but also strengthen maternal and child healthcare, improve emergency medical services, and bring specialized treatment closer to residents of Serere and neighbouring districts.

For many residents and leaders, the message from the funeral gathering was unanimous: the solution to Serere’s healthcare challenges lies in translating government commitments into action by completing, equipping, staffing, and opening the district’s long-awaited hospital