A waiver system is currently being worked on for the Mulago Maternal Hospital.

A cross-section of Ugandans are eagerly awaiting announcement of the waiver system for Specialized Maternal and Neonatal Health Care Unit at Mulago Hospital. This follows an announcement by authorities that a committee will be set up to handle the waiver for patients who cannot afford the recently announced prices.

The system is expected to be in place by October 9^th 2018. Ainebyoona Emmanuel, the Senior Public Relations Officer in the Ministry of Health during a press conference held at Makerere University told Journalism and Communication students that a team has already been set up to address the waiver.

Janet Namatovu is excited with the proposed system and is eagerly waiting for it to be announced. “I am eagerly waiting for the waiver system because I know I am going to benefit from its services since I am a single mother of four and expecting but cannot afford the recently announced fees,” explained Namatovu.

“Well, this system is going to be of help to us. We can’t wait for it to be put in place because I personally I cannot afford such costs,” says Nabulime Barbara, another mother.

According to Kusasira Enoch, the PRO Mulago Hospital, there are going to be measures to make sure that Ugandans who cannot afford the fees will be worked on.

Minister Jane Ruth Aceng in a statement announced that a committee will be set up to assess the eligibility of the patients seeking a waiver. The committee comprises of Head of Clinical Services at the hospital, Nurse in-charge, Medical Social Worker and Head of Administration at Mulago Hospital.

According to the recently announced costs for the services in the unit, patients will pay a consultation fee of UGX 50,000, admitted patients pay UGX 80,000 per day, which includes food, linen and utilities. Under reproductive medicine, patient seeking IVF will be required to pay UGX 13 million, among others. This has however caused uproar among the public who say the prices are too high for an ordinary Ugandan.