By Rogers Wanambwa 

KIU, Main Campus - Last week, the Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, called on Members of Parliament to champion the reopening of health center IIs in their constituencies.

Kadaga made the call at the opening of a workshop organized by the Parliamentary Forum on Immunisation on Thursday, 15th April 2021 at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Kampala.

“This meeting has come at an important time when the government machinery has decided that development will be at the parish level. It is good news to me because I was not happy with the closure of health center IIs in many parishes.

I represent a rural constituency and people have to walk long distances to access health services. Since the government has decided on its own that the parish is the first place of development, we need to advocate for the return of health center IIs,” she said.

Kadaga added that the public sometimes criticizes MPs for not working enough, for overlooking the fact that advocacy though very significant, cannot be calculated.

“If you engage in an advocacy campaign in your constituency, then people will listen to you and follow suit. So, let us embrace the COVID-19 vaccine and encourage them to take their children for immunization,” she said.

Besides, District Woman Representative for Buyende, and also Chair of the Immunization Forum, Hon Veronica Babirye Kadogo, said that they are optimistic about bringing change through collaborating with legislators.

Dr Alfred Driwale, the Assistant Commissioner for Vaccines and Immunisation, who represented the Minister of Health, said it was crucial to celebrate the milestones they had achieved with immunization.