Minister Anywar moves to pay health workers risk allowances in Kitgum

Kitgum, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | State Minister for Environment Beatrice Atim Anywar has donated five million Shillings to the Kitgum district COVID-19 taskforce to facilitate payment of risk allowances for health workers.

Anywar says the intervention follows concerns by the district COVID-19 taskforce and health workers who had gone for months without accessing risk allowances for managing the pandemic. Doctors, laboratory specialists, clinical officers, nurses and community health workers under surveillance have not been paid for eight months now.

The delayed risk allowances were part of the 31.4 million Shillings that was disbursed by the Health and Finance Ministries in October last year as funds meant for each district task force to respond to the COVID-19 threat. According to Kitgum district Chief Administrative Officer Martin Jacan Gwoktoo, the delays were caused by bureaucracy and technical failures in the integrated financial management system.

However, Anywar says that although the frontline workers spoke with pride about their contribution in fighting the pandemic, they felt unrecognized even as they put their lives on the line and many expressed frustration and anger over their lack of life-saving protective equipment. Anywar stressed that when dealing with a human resource in the health sector, one should not have to wait until they threaten industrial action which can sometimes become devastating to the health service end-users.

Kitgum General Hospital Medical Superintendent, Dr Geoffrey Okello says that the delayed payment coupled with a host of challenges, including insufficient kits and personal protection equipment, long working hours, heightened risk of exposure and stigma has instead demoralized them.

Okello says despite repeated reminders to the district COVID-19 taskforce and the district health department over their risk allowances, their demands were never addressed and the majority of the health workers had already abandoned responses to manage coronavirus cases at the facility.

The minister also donated 30 pieces of beddings towards the 20-bed capacity COVID-19 treatment centre established at the Kitgum General Hospital which has been operating without bedsheets and blankets.

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