The Prime Minister of Uganda, Rt. Hon. Robinah Nabbanja, has commissioned the newly constructed Butebo Health Centre (HC) IV in Butebo District, hailing the military's expanding role in civil infrastructure and national socio-economic transformation.
The modern medical facility was constructed by the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) Engineers Brigade and funded by the Ministry of Health.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, Prime Minister Nabbanja commended President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni for building a professional and modern army capable of executing operations other than war. She noted that deploying military engineers to construct critical public amenities exemplifies the strong civil-military relationship between the armed forces and the population.
She praised the UPDF for delivering high-quality workmanship on schedule and urged them to maintain the same execution standards across all assigned public projects.
Addressing community members, the Prime Minister voiced concern over poor domestic sanitation, emphasizing that basic hygiene practices would drastically reduce outpatient burdens at public health facilities.
“Seventy-five per cent of diseases are manageable if residents uphold cleanliness in their respective homesteads,” Nabbanja said, observing that many patients seek hospital treatment for preventable water-borne and sanitation-related illnesses. She challenged residents to take advantage of the facility to maintain good health and actively engage in income-generating activities to improve their livelihoods.
Local leaders praised the quality and value for money delivered by the army brigade. The Resident District Commissioner (RDC) for Butebo stated that the UPDF's efficiency relieved pressure on district engineering teams, noting that military engineers have established a benchmark with few competitors.
Butebo District Chairperson, Samuel Keddy, expressed appreciation for the military engineers' discipline and steadfastness in executing the project within budget despite local implementation hurdles.
The Senior Medical Officer in-charge of Butebo HC IV, Dr. Amos Ngiri, explained that the expanded health unit will now attend to approximately 250 outpatients and inpatients daily.
Under the executed scope of works, the completed health centre features an Out-Patient Department, a dedicated maternity ward, and general inpatient wards with an admission capacity of about 50 beds. The facility is equipped with two on-site residential staff houses, modern paved access walkways, a placenta pit, a four-stance pit latrine, an elevated water supply system, a dedicated solar power setup, and a three-phase electrical grid connection to guarantee uninterrupted clinical services.
The commissioning ceremony was attended by the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Monica Musenero Masanza; the Minister for Local Government, Hon. Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi; Senior Presidential Advisor on Manifesto Implementation, Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu; senior and junior UPDF officers; district technocrats; and local community members.
