Luweero District authorities have stepped up mobilisation for funds towards the proposed district hospital with the LC V chairman now set to meet friends and well-wishers in the United States who have already shown support for the project.

Hajj Abdul Nadduli, the district chairman, told the district council on Friday that he got an invitation from Ugandans living in the US who are willing to give a push towards the district hospital construction, among other projects, with the initial meetings scheduled within the first week of September, when Ugandans living in the different states will meet the Luweero delegation.

“I have already secured the air tickets for this trip. We are taking the hospital project very seriously because our people are suffering,” Mr Nadduli said. “The current state of the health facility at Kasana is very bad, with some of the buildings already condemned due to old age while the other facilities are overstretched.The Health Centre IV is now serving four districts which neighbour Luweero, and the alternative is an expansion to meet the Health needs of our people,” he said.

The district has this financial year allocated Shs116 million for the first phase of the construction programme of a 100-bed ward at Kasana Health Centre, now being upgraded to a hospital, but District Secretary for Finance John Kayanja said they will continue mobilising for more funds to ensure that the project takes off.

According to the deputy District Health Officer and in-charge Kasana Health Centre IV Dr Agaba Byamukama, the facility has an average patient turn up of 2,500 per month, while the mothers who give birth at the Centre are about 151 per month, but the facility has only 50 beds, forcing patients to sleep on the floor.