Authorities at Lira Regional Referral Hospital (LRRH) have defended the introduction of a Shs 100 fee for using waterborne toilets, stating that it is necessary for facility maintenance.
The hospital, which serves over 2.5 million people from the Lango sub-region and beyond, recently implemented the charge, sparking public outcry. Many argued that healthcare services, including sanitation facilities, should be free.
However, Peter Okello Odeke, the hospital’s principal administrator, dismissed these concerns, emphasizing that without the fee, maintaining the toilets would be a significant challenge.
“Before we came in, it was funny. Some of these toilets were just being closed because of the fear that people would spoil them. Do people want to see this hospital flooded with s**t like you have always seen and then we say this is a hospital, and then they’re asking if there is management in this hospital?”
He refuted claims that hospital staff were exploiting patients by charging more than the designated Shs 100, clarifying that each toilet is managed by a single designated attendant. Odeke also pointed out that paid toilet facilities are common in public spaces and urged hospital visitors to support the initiative for their own benefit.
Lira Regional Referral Hospital currently offers nearly 25 specialized services, including dialysis, ophthalmology, radiology, microbiology, ear, nose, and throat (ENT), histology, obstetrics, and gynaecology, among others.