Uganda: Health Committee Irked by Stock-Out of Sickle Cell Drugs in Busoga
Several hospitals in the Busoga sub region have gone for four months without essential sickle cell drugs in Uganda, worsening the burden faced by patients managing sickle cell disease (SCD).
This was revealed on Monday, 08 September 2026 during an oversight visit by the Committee on Health to selected health facilities in the sub-region.
The committee, led by its Deputy Chairperson, Hon. Hope Nakazibwe, expressed concern after discovering that Hydroxyurea, one of the most critical sickle cell drugs in Uganda, has been unavailable for months at Jinja Regional Referral Hospital, Mpumudde Health Centre IV and Buwenge General Hospital.
Jinja Regional Referral Hospital. Source: jinjahospital.go.ug
Hydroxyurea is a recommended World Health Organisation drug that helps reduce the frequency of sickle cell attacks, hospital admissions and mortality among patients.
Jinja Hospital, which serves about 4.5 million people, treats more than 2,000 sickle cell patients every month, a situation that has raised concern about the ability of ordinary families to meet the cost of medicines.
“For an ordinary Musoga, how many do we expect to afford these special specialised medicines on their own, it is next to impossible,” said Hon. Sarah Lwansasula (NUP, Jinja City Woman MP).
The hospital’s Senior Pharmacist, Mathias Mayanja, said the shortage of sickle cell drugs in Uganda has persisted despite efforts to have the medicine supplied through the national health system.
“National Medical Stores [NMS] put them on a programme where we do not pay, the Ministry of Health went ahead to direct CIPLA/Quality Chemicals Ltd to start manufacturing hydroxyurea – it is coming to six months but when we contacted NMS, they said the medicine was not available,” Mayanja said.
The hospital is also facing shortages of third-line antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) which are specialised medicines used for patients whose HIV has developed resistance to earlier treatment regimens.
Mayanja attributed the broader drug shortages to inadequate funding, saying the hospital requires significantly more money to provide all the medicines and supplies it needs.
The revelations prompted the committee to renew calls for the government to prioritise sickle cell disease and the steady supply of sickle cell drugs in Uganda as a major health burden. Hon. Nakazibwe cited a parliamentary motion passed in March 2026 calling for decisive action.
“I was among those who seconded a motion urging government to prioritise treatment of sickle cells disease as a health burden, we achieved by having government and the Ministry of Health support, we need to get information in time that it is not done, now that they are not supporting an area with the highest disease burden,” said Nakazibwe.
Hon. Timothy Batuwa (NUP, Jinja South Division West) said discussions are underway on the possibility of introducing bone marrow transplant services with the support of specialists. He also reiterated the need to fast-track the establishment of a regional blood bank, saying a reliable supply of blood and consistent access to sickle cell drugs in Uganda would help reduce the burden faced by sickle cell patients.
Batuwa also raised concerns about the hospital’s ability to make full use of newly recruited specialised health workers in the face of consistent machine breakdown.
“The hospital has received super specialised health workers such as the neurosurgeon, but is there a budget to acquire the specialised equipment to ensure he transfers his knowledge to the people? For example, do we have the visualisation advanced equipment, computerised navigation tools?” asked Batuwa.
His remarks followed a revelation by Peter Kisambira, a board member and also the Chairperson of the Finance and Development Committee at Jinja Hospital that the CT scan had been out of service for two months, while the oxygen plant had been down for four months.
Kisambira explained that a number of the hospital’s equipment is serviced by experts from Germany whose delayed travel to Uganda often prolongs the breakdowns.
A section of MPs on the health committee led by the chairperson, Hon. Julius Rude Monday, also visited Mbale Regional Referral Hospital as part of the broader visit to health facilities within the eastern region.
