Uganda: Arua Hospital Runs on 23% Staffing Amid Rising Patient Pressure

Arua Regional Referral Hospital is operating with only 23 percent of its approved staffing structure, a shortage its acting director says is constraining the hospital’s ability to provide services as demand continues to rise. The hospital’s acting director, Dr Gilbert Aniku, a senior paediatrician, made the disclosure when he appeared before the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament, chaired by Deputy Chairperson Sarah Lwansasula, to respond to audit queries for the financial year ended 2025 on Monday, 14 September 2026. Dr Aniku told the committee that the hospital serves a catchment population of about 2.5 million people in the West Nile region, including Ugandans, refugees and people crossing the border. On an annual basis, the hospital handles about 130,000 outpatients and 22,000 inpatients, putting further pressure on its limited human resources and infrastructure. “Right now, our staffing using the new structure is at 23 percent of the establishment, and this has placed a constraint on our ability to deliver on the services to an optimum level,” Dr Aniku said. The staffing gap is particularly significant in maternity services. Of the 22,000 inpatients recorded in the year u