By Timothy Okello
Uganda’s health system works best when technical leadership, political representation, and government oversight pull in the same direction.
At the district level, that triangle is made up of District Health Officers (DHOs), Members of Parliament (MPs), and Resident District Commissioners (RDCs).
This is not just a bureaucratic arrangement.
When medicines go missing, patients are sent home without treatment, and public trust in government crumbles.
The fight against drug theft and stockouts depends on these three leaders working together — not in silos.
DHOs: The Data and the Diagnostics
As chief health advisors, DHOs know the numbers. They track medicine orders, deliveries, and usage. They are often the first to spot trends like chronic shortages, high patient inflows, or facilities that report losses. But data without action achieves little.
MPs: The Voice of the People
MPs sit closest to citizens. They are the first to hear complaints about paying for Mama Kits or being turned away because “drugs are finished.”
By engaging with DHOs, MPs can turn community frustration into practical oversight — tabling questions in Parliament, lobbying for resources, and joining public sensitisation campaigns.
When MPs add their political weight to DHO findings, medicine management becomes a public priority.
RDCs: The Watchdogs
RDCs are the President’s representatives in the district. They have the authority to convene meetings, summon explanations, and demand accountability from facility managers. When RDCs back up DHOs’ technical reports and MPs’ political concerns, they close the loop between data, representation, and enforcement.
Collaboration is the Missing Link
Imagine the impact if DHOs regularly briefed MPs on medicine usage, if MPs held joint barazas with RDCs to inform citizens about their medicine rights, and if all three leaders publicly named and shamed health workers who sell government drugs.
This united front would send a powerful message: medicines are a public good, not a private business.
Uganda can win the fight against drug theft — but only if these three leaders lock arms and make medicine accountability a shared mission.
The author is a health mobiliser in Gulu.
