MPs have called for urgent government intervention to address staffing gaps and chronic underfunding at Butabika Hospital, warning that the situation is worsening the country’s growing mental health crisis.
The call was made by Goretti Namugga, the chairperson of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, during a meeting where legislators reviewed audit queries raised by the Office of the Auditor General.
Namugga said the government must urgently increase funding to the national mental health facility so it can recruit more staff and address administrative challenges that are affecting service delivery.
“Government needs to urgently extend more funds to the hospital to hire more staff and cater for other outstanding administrative challenges. The hospital is very underfunded with only about Shs 9 billion and limited specialist staff,” she said.
Namugga said the staffing shortages and financial constraints have made it difficult for the hospital to align its operations with the country’s development goals under the National Development Plan and its own strategic plan.
Other legislators, including Herbert Tayebwa, MP for Kashongi County, Wamakuyu Mudiba, MP for Elgon North in Bududa District, and Susan Amero, Woman MP for Amuria District, also questioned hospital officials about how funds allocated to the facility had been spent.
The MPs asked why some expenditures appeared to have been made despite not being clearly reflected in the audit report.
In response, the hospital’s accounting officer Juliet Nakku told the committee that the funds allocated in the previous financial year had been used to deliver key services. ‘
These included paying staff salaries, purchasing medical equipment and supporting the training of medical interns.
She said the hospital had also acquired specialised equipment such as an MRI machine, currently the only one available at the facility.
She also expressed concern about the increasing prevalence of mental health disorders in the country.
According to recent data cited from the National Planning Authority (NPA), about 70% of Ugandans are estimated to experience some form of mental health challenge, with 24% affecting adults and 23% affecting children.
Hospital officials attributed the growing crisis to factors such as drug abuse, broken homes, unemployment and peer pressure, warning that the situation could worsen without stronger government intervention.
