SOROTI. Medics and patients seeking services at Soroti Regional Referral Hospital , Eastern Uganda have a reason to smile after the facility received medical equipment worth $6.2 million (about Shs21.9 trillion) from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
This donation marks one of the largest single-facility donations to Uganda’s public health system in recent years.
The shipments, delivered between September and December, include endoscope machines, ultrasound scanners, delivery beds, incubators, warmers, operating microscopes and monitoring equipment.
Hospital officials say they are convinced ha the new equipment will transform patient care in a facility long strained by inadequate space and outdated tools.
Dr Ben Watmon, the hospital director, said the new equipment is already installed and operational, describing it as a turning point for the Teso region.
“Today, the agreement has yielded the expected output. JICA has fulfilled its part of the MoU, the equipment has been installed, users have been trained, and it is now operational,” he said on Friday.
According to him, the machines will speed up diagnosis and treatment, improve accuracy, and reduce costly referrals to other hospitals. He acknowledged gaps in specialised personnel but said the hospital is prepared to maximise the new capacity.
“This is a major game changer for us, with this equipment, we can now provide specialized care to our patients, and reduce referrals to other hospitals,” he said.
Dr Watmon thanked JICA for what he described as a timely investment, noting that some machines are entirely new additions while others replace long-obsolete equipment.
But he warned that infrastructure constraints and an operational budget of only Shs11 billion continue to limit service delivery.
The hospital recently opened a dedicated Accidents and Emergency unit to offer 24-hour ambulance services and care for trauma cases, burns, fractures and life-threatening emergencies.
Inside the clinical departments, staff say the new capacity comes at a critical moment.
Jacqueline Amongi, Senior Optimal Clinical Officer, said her unit receives 45–50 outpatients daily and performs 20–50 inpatient surgeries weekly.
She warned that glaucoma remains the country’s leading cause of blindness, urging the public to undergo routine eye checks.
Dr David Ongodia, Associate Consultant Maxillofacial Surgeon, who sees 45–50 patients a day, said: “With the new equipment, we commit to providing better care for our patients.”
JICA’s Uganda chief representative, Inoue Yoichi, revealed that the donation is part of a long-term partnership with Uganda’s Ministry of Health.
“We have been working hand-in-hand with the Ministry of Health for over 20 years to strengthen hospital management and upgrade regional referral hospitals in the country,” he said.
According to him, 98 sets of equipment were donated, with 95 already delivered and three expected soon.
Soroti Hospital, founded as a dispensary in the 1920s and elevated to regional referral status in 1996, currently has 278 beds and serves 600–700 outpatients and about 300 inpatients daily.