Monday 28 August – Part 2

Around mid morning we set off for the Ministries, to meet the Minister of State for Disability and Elderly Affairs (Hon SK Madada) and the Minister for State for General Duties at the Ministry of Health (Dr Richard Nduhura).

The meeting with the Minister for Disability and Elderly Affairs was very constructive and went beyond the usual courtesy visit. It was agreed that Sightsavers should sign an MOU with the ministry to cover CBR activities.

In Uganda we work closely with the government in CBR, rather than relying on faith groups as we currently do in Ghana. We have MOUs with local government, but Ben Male was very keen to formalise an overall MOU with the ministry, and they clearly wanted this too. The ministry was sponsoring a ‘week of the elderly’ in October, and wanted Sightsavers to become more involved. They also invited us to sit on the national steering CBR committee.

The meeting at the Ministry of Health was more of a formality. We did however hear from Mulago hospital (the main national referral hospital) about their need for $1.5 million to build a new eye unit, and the need for a new ophthalmologist for the Hoima eye unit (built by Sightsavers). We clearly have a good relationship with the Ministry.