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| Delegates in session |
In an endeavor to learn, share and deepen dialogue with the Catholic Health Practitioners in Uganda, a delegation of three Ethiopian Catholic Conference (ECC) Health Officers and a representative from the (Ethiopia) Ministry of Health is concluding its four-day visit to the Uganda Catholic Medical Bureau (UCMB) this week in Kampala.
The delegation, which arrived on April 22, began their mission with a courtesy visit to the office of the Secretary General of the Uganda Episcopal Conference, Msgr John Baptist Kauta.
The delegation composed of Mrs Bethelhem Shifraw, the Head of the Health and HIV/AIDS Department of ECC Social and Development Commission National Office, Mr Getu Kassa, the Deputy Administrator and Development Manager, Bushelo Catholic Health Center (ECC), Sr Bizunesh Yeseph, the Assistant Health and HIV/AIDS Department (ECC) and Ms. Eyerusalem Animut from the Ethiopian Ministry of Health (MOH).
The UCMB Executive Secretary, Dr Sam Orach chaired a meeting with the delegation and other health officers at the Uganda Catholic Secretaria premises. He said that the main objective of the visit is to help the two countries carry out the necessary assessment and reviews of the Public Private Partnership implementation at the MOH.
“This visit will also help the two nations assess the selected projects of Uganda in order to be utilized for the development of appropriate public private partnership implantation guideline for the health sector in Ethiopia,” Dr Orach stated.
He added that the involvement of religion in health is a compliance with the scriptures while quoting verses from both the Bible (Deuteronomy 32:39, Exodus 15:25-26) and the Quran. “Jesus Healing ministry was holistic but was not facility-based. Evidence of buildings devoted to healthcare are only found beginning with the Christian era,” he said adding that “In Uganda the Anglican and Catholic Churches founded the first health facilities (1897 and 1899 respectively) and were later joined by the Muslims and other churches.”
Dr Orach also encouraged the ECC to strengthen a formal partnership with their (Ethiopian) Public facility-based since the government is unable to provide services single-handed. He told them that it is through partnership that Uganda’s health system is a success.
The delegation later visited the offices of head of the Public-Private Partnership in Health Coordination Unit in Uganda, Dr Timothy Musila, the Executive Secretary of the Uganda Protestant Medical Bureau, Mr Lorna Muhiirwe and Naggalama Hospital.
By Jacinta W Odongo, Media Officer, Uganda Episcopal Conference