KAMPALA, March 20, 2026 — Kawempe National Referral Hospital has reduced annual maternal deaths from 200 to 60 over the past three years, its Executive Director, Dr Emmanuel Byaruhanga, has told Parliament.
Byaruhanga disclosed the figures while appearing before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee [Central Government] on Wednesday, during a session that also examined whether patients at the hospital are receiving services free of charge.
He told MPs that services at Kawempe are generally provided free of charge, except for radiology services — including X-rays, ultrasound scans, CT scans and MRI scans — which generate the hospital’s non-tax revenue.
Byaruhanga said caesarean sections are also free, except for procedures carried out in the hospital’s six-bed private wing, where patients are charged Shs 2.5 million.
Committee chairperson Gorreth Namugga pressed the hospital management to clarify whether women can access caesarean section services at no cost.
“Can a woman walk into Kawempe Hospital and find the c-section operation free? The women out there need to know this and they must be sensitised so that they do not pay for what is supposed to be at zero cost,” Namugga said.
Mubende District Woman Member of Parliament Hope Nakazibwe asked whether mothers are given essential delivery items, including mama kits, free of charge at the facility.
She also sought clarification on whether shortages of medical supplies ever force patients to pay for operations or other services.
Kalungu West MP Joseph Gonzaga Ssewungu raised concerns over the many pharmacies around the hospital, saying patients are often directed there to buy medicines.
“Doctor, confirm to this committee that a patient will come to Kawempe Hospital and get all those services without spending a single penny. When you move around Mulago Hospital, you will notice that it is surrounded by pharmacies. Why is that? It is business,” Ssewungu said.
In response, Byaruhanga insisted that official hospital services are free, apart from radiology.
“All services in Kawempe Hospital are 100 per cent free except for radiology. I have heard of patients who were charged but this is not official. Several times we follow up with these patients, but they cannot give us the information,” he said.
He added that private pharmacies and nearby health facilities operate independently of the hospital.
“There are pharmacies around the hospital, but this is totally out of our control. There is even a mini-hospital about one kilometre from the hospital, but this is out of my control. I think they are registered by KCCA,” Byaruhanga said.
The hospital team appeared before the committee to respond to queries raised in the Auditor General’s report for the financial year ended June 30, 2025.
https://thecooperator.news/mulago-seeks-shs-10-billion-for-icus/
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