By Eye Media Uganda | Iganga | September 2, 2026
Iganga Woman MP Ms. Mariam Seif has recounted losing two family members amid persistent electricity and oxygen challenges at Iganga General Hospital.
On September 2, 2026, Ms. Seif said her newborn baby died at the hospital in 2024 after electricity went off while the child was receiving care in an incubator.
“The biggest issue at Iganga General Hospital is electricity. It is always on and off,” Ms. Seif said.
The legislator also said she lost her sister at the facility in 2025 after health workers reportedly delayed securing oxygen for her.
She questioned how ordinary patients were coping with the crisis if a serving Member of Parliament could experience such losses.
Hospital Administrator Mr. Abubakar Waiswa said the facility experiences between seven and 10 power interruptions daily, with some lasting several hours.
The interruptions reportedly disrupt maternity, theatre, laboratory and oxygen services, forcing the hospital to depend on generators.
Mr. Waiswa said the hospital spends about Shs7 million every month on generator fuel, causing it to accumulate debts that affect other services.
He said the matter had repeatedly been brought to the attention of relevant authorities, including the Ministry of Energy and the Office of the Prime Minister.
Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited official Mr. Uthman Musoke attributed the outages to an ageing power network and the long Bugiri feeder supplying the area.
Mr. Musoke said the feeder stretches for about 500 kilometres, making it vulnerable to faults, including damage caused by trees falling on power lines.
He said UEDCL was installing new breakers and had proposed a dedicated electricity line connecting Iganga General Hospital directly to the substation.
However, the proposed line still requires funding and approval from the responsible ministry.
Iganga District Chairperson Mr. Isabirye Shabiru Kalulu said the hospital urgently needs the dedicated line because it serves patients from Bugiri, Bugweri, Kaliro, Luuka and Mayuge districts.
Mr. Kalulu also called for the facility to be elevated to regional referral hospital status and provided with funding that reflects its large catchment population.
Besides unreliable electricity, Iganga General Hospital reportedly faces a 35-percent staffing shortage, overcrowding, dilapidated structures and inadequate diagnostic equipment.
The hospital also lacks sufficient ambulances and a functional blood bank, while some patients are reportedly forced to sleep on the floor when its wards become overcrowded.
Built in 1968, the hospital is located at Nakavule along the Jinja–Tororo highway and occupies approximately 22 acres of land.
