Lira, Uganda | Lira Regional Referral Hospital (LRRH) has announced plans to hold its second community engagement Baraza on 14 November 2025 under the theme “The Role of the Community in Improving Health Service Delivery.”
The event forms part of a national effort to promote transparency, enhance public participation, and strengthen health governance at the regional level.
Hospital Director, Dr. Andrew Odur said the Baraza has been organised to provide citizens with an opportunity to understand how the hospital is utilised, engage with administrators, and share constructive ideas to improve healthcare services.
He explained that the engagement would also aim to increase public awareness of the hospital’s services and seek practical solutions to long-standing challenges.
Dr. Odur indicated that religious, cultural, and civic leaders, alongside key opinion leaders, had been invited because of their influence in shaping community behaviour and mobilising citizens around health-related matters.
He noted that their involvement would be crucial in efforts to eradicate diseases such as cancer and malaria, among others, and in ensuring appropriate use of referral systems across health centres.
The upcoming Baraza follows the inaugural engagement held on 6 March 2025, which became a pivotal moment in the hospital’s reform and accountability drive.
During that event, officials raised serious concerns about misuse of the hospital facility, including congestion resulting from patients bypassing lower-level health units, allegations of corruption, theft of government drugs, and the spread of misinformation on social media platforms.
Stakeholders also expressed concern over rising cases of teenage pregnancy, increasing child mortality rates, and the growing prevalence of non-communicable diseases such as cancer and sickle cell anaemia, which continue to strain the hospital’s resources.
Participants recommended strengthening the hospital’s infrastructure, recruiting more specialists, enhancing security through a police post, and mobilising communities to abandon harmful cultural practices affecting public health.
Hospital authorities reported that feedback from the first Baraza guided several interventions aimed at improving service delivery, decentralising healthcare services, and increasing institutional accountability.
Dr. Odur stated that the second Baraza would be used to assess progress made since the first engagement, identify remaining challenges, and align strategies toward better health outcomes for the population.
The event is expected to draw leaders from multiple sectors who will deliberate on collaborative measures to promote disease prevention, early diagnosis, and responsible access to healthcare services.
It will also serve as a monitoring and evaluation mechanism in line with national health accountability standards.
The Baraza is seen as a continuation of a broader shift toward community-led healthcare reform, in which citizens play an active role in shaping public health systems rather than merely being recipients of medical services.