From cardiothoracic surgeon to village health advocate

Charles Wendo

The New Vision Printing and Publishing Corporation, Kampala, Uganda

Uganda’s Director General of Health Services, Prof. Francis Omaswa says that abolition of user fees in his country has enabled
more people to access health services. “Development partners now agree that it was a mistake to require people to pay for health
services … the rest of the world should go that way” From high tech practice in the UK and Nairobi, Prof Omaswa established a model rural operation theatre in a poor ruraln area in Ngora, Eastern Uganda that became the envy of East Africa. He established model village health teams to provide the backbone of a district health system. When he became the head of Uganda’s ministry of health he pushed for these teams country wide. This, together with President Museveni’s open and multi sectoral approach to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, has contributed to Uganda’s success story: HIV prevalence rates have plummeted from 30% to 5%. Charles Wendo caught up with him and gives a rare glimpse into this remarkable son of Africa: surgeon, public health advocate with rare leadership skills.

African Health Sciences 2004; 4(1) 71-74