Celebrated Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, in her 2009 TED Talk, The Danger of a Single Story, powerfully illuminated why the diversity of stories matters.
She stated, “The consequence of the single story is this: It robs people of dignity. It makes our recognition of our equal humanity difficult. It emphasizes how we are different rather than how we are similar.”
This week, we look at three stories. At first glance, they appear unrelated: the first is about intern doctors behind bars for demanding better conditions; the second, Members of Parliament questioning why they received Shs 15 million less than expected in their car grants; and the third, Uganda’s remarkable victory against Ebola.
These three stories are threaded by this question: how do we protect the gains Uganda has made? For in the choices we make, the priorities we fund, and therefore the people we reward or neglect, we reveal whether those gains belong to all Ugandans or just a privileged cabal.
Story 1: On August 12, eight intern doctors bravely took to the streets, specifically Parliamentary Avenue in a public protest against the government’s proposals on intern allowances and deployment.
For their public advocacy, the police arrested the eight on charges of being a traffic nuisance. Media reports indicate that the interns are demanding that the government commit to paying interns a Shs 4 million monthly allowance.
In this latest episode of the travails of medical workers in public service, the Uganda Medical Association has thrown its weight behind the interns’ demands, vehemently criticising their arrest and given the government a 14-day ultimatum to resolve the dispute with the interns; failure to do so will see them withdraw their services in government facilities.
Right now, if, like millions of ordinary Ugandans, your main option for healthcare are the government facilities, aside from your penchant for self-medication, you are watching the news headlines and calendar closely, praying fervently that the government will this time meet the demands of the intern doctors not with the usual lethargy and intransigence but with comprehensive actions to lift Uganda’s health sector out of the pits.
Story 2: The eight doctors chose Parliamentary Avenue – the vicinity of Parliament for their public protest. They were right on the money – literally.
As the medics advocate for better conditions for the public health sector, Members of Parliament (MPs) were also in a struggle of their own. The online news Nile Post reported that MPs were upset – though, of course, not so upset as to be out on the streets protesting like poor medical interns.
In July, the MPs received their car grant – one of many fat perks that come with their position – a car allowance to enable them to purchase a sleek, gleaming vehicle that will aid them in-cough cough-reaching their constituencies (quite a marvel they managed the hectic campaigns without this perk).
Instead of Shs 315 million, they each received Shs 300 million. Nile Post quoted one MP who rightfully queried, “Hon. Clerk, can you clarify to us why we have been shortchanged by Shs 15 million? The budget clearly provided for Shs 315 million. This is taxpayers’ money, and we need transparency.”
The car grant comes unencumbered, like your mood when your wallet is flush with hard earned money – the grant is unbothered by the MP who already has a Rolls Royce or a car purchased courtesy of the previous Parliament.
It does not even ask why the car grant for the previous Parliament was Shs 200 million; what factors necessitated a Shs 100 million increase for this Parliament? Furthermore, vying for an MP seat is stupendously expensive – surely aspirants already have a car or two – for how would they undertake campaigns in the constituencies?
So, there we are, funding cars for the well-heeled, well-facilitated MP while the threadbare intern doctor is expected to work atrociously long hours without pay and without medical supplies.
Even the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, who has been severely criticized for pussyfooting about the failings of the government, weighed in.
On June 7, during a Sunday service, Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu remarked, “You cannot say that you have Shs 158 billion to purchase cars for Members of Parliament and then you claim you do not have Shs 28 billion to pay medical interns’ allowances, with the excuse that it would crush the economy.”
Kaziimba further added, “…senior doctors are rarely in hospitals. It is the medical interns who are everywhere doing the donkey work.”
Story 3: Yet in the public health sector, there is undeniable good news. On July 28, the Ministry of Health (MOH) declared Uganda Ebola-free after completing the World Health Organisation (WHO) mandatory 42-day period without registering new infections.
Uganda just closed the door on Ebola while neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) grapples with its largest Ebola outbreak to date. The United States Centers for Disease Control as of August 15, documented 4,945 Ebola cases with 2,327 deaths- and still rising.
The Minister of Health, Dr. Chris Baryomunsi, credits Uganda’s success to the following factors: continued investment in public health preparedness, including strengthened laboratory capacity, improved disease surveillance and the dedication of health workers, local leaders, security agencies, partners and communities who worked together throughout the response.
MOH noted that WHO commended Uganda’s specialised Ebola treatment facilities, trained emergency medical teams and readily available medical supplies as key factors that enabled a swift and effective response.
Dear reader, we return to the power of stories. The government has a fantastic story on its hands – beating back Ebola despite the evident struggles of the health sector. Intern doctors are part of this success story.
They are among the men and women who keep our government hospitals afloat amidst chronic shortages, collapse, and tone-deaf politicians; they stand on the frontlines when disease strikes; their labour underpinning many of the gains we celebrate.
Alienating them, arresting them when they ask for peanuts- not even car grants but meagre peanuts is to recklessly squander a good story, a shared story. Dear reader, this is not how we protect the gains in this era of performative Kisanja No Sleep!
You do not protect gains by punishing those who helped secure them. You do not protect gains by treating the people who carry the burden of healthcare as an afterthought. The gains are not abstract statistics in a ministry report.
The gains are about the people of Uganda who are on the receiving end of the work of intern doctors: the mother in labour, the child with malaria, the accident victim rushed into casualty, the family praying for one more day with a loved one. For the love of Ugandans, pay medical interns!
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The writer is a tayaad muzzuku