The Health Ministry has released the 2024/2025 financial year national health facility performance rankings, naming the best and worst performing districts, sub-regions, and referral hospitals in the country. The findings were presented in the Annual Health Sub-Programme Performance Report during its 31st Joint Review Mission on Tuesday. They highlight service delivery disparities among the country’s government and private not-for-profit hospitals.
Mbale Regional Referral Hospital topped the list with 67 percent, followed by Mengo Hospital at 55 percent. St Mary’s Hospital Lacor, St Francis Nsambya Hospital and Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital each scored 41 percent. Masaka Regional Referral Hospital followed with 40 percent, while Kayunga and Mbarara referral hospitals scored 38 percent each. Hoima scored 37 percent, Lira (36), and Entebbe, Lubaga and Mubende hospitals each scored 35 percent, with Arua scoring 34 percent.
Gulu and Jinja regional referral hospitals tied at 33 percent, Kabale scored 32 percent, Soroti (31), Moroto (28), while Yumbe Regional Referral Hospital performed worst, scoring 27 percent. According to the report, the assessment is based on the Ministry’s Annual Performance Grant (APG) and Delivery Readiness Grant (ARG) scores, which measure both the volume of health services delivered and the readiness of facilities in terms of staffing, equipment, medicines, and infrastructure.
Local government rankings
Kiruhura emerged as the best performing district, scoring 92.3 percent, followed by Bundibugyo, which scored 89.4 percent. Mbale was ranked third after scoring 89 percent. Presenting the findings, Dr Diana Atwine, the Ministry of Health’s permanent secretary, noted that Lira City emerged fourth with 88.7 percent followed by Amolatar (87.1 percent) and Bududa in sixth place with 85.4 percent. Bunyangabu, Jinja City, Kwania and Ibanda completed the top 10, scoring between 85.3 percent and 84.8 percent.
Arua District was the worst performer nationwide at 54.3 percent, ranking 146th. Soroti District followed at 57.8 percent, followed by Butebo (58.8), Hoima (60.2) and Bukomansimbi (61.1). Other low-performing districts included Ngora, Buvuma, Kisoro, Karenga and Bugweri, scoring between 63.2 and 64.1 percent.
According to the report, South Buganda, ranked 15th, was the worst-performing sub-region. It was followed by North Buganda (14th). Bunyoro and Teso were the worst-performing sub-regions. Lango topped the country, followed by Bugisu, Acholi, West Nile and Kigezi. Karamoja ranked sixth, with Tooro, Ankole, Bukedi, and Kampala, which ranked 10th.
Busoga Sub-region was ranked 11th.
Dr Atwiine, who represented the Minister of Health, said some of the poor-performing districts were largely struggling with human resource shortages, transparency issues, and inefficiencies. She urged all stakeholders to align with the National Development Plan IV targets. ‘Resilience and efficiency is a human resource. We should rethink HR management through improved training, welfare, mentorship and mindset transformation so as to ensure staff embody values such as patient-centeredness, respect, quality and selflessness,’ Dr Atwiine noted.
According to the same performance report, Kisenyi Health Centre IV in Kampala emerged as the best-performing HC IV in the country, scoring 74 percent, followed by Bujubuli HC IV in Kyegegwa (68 points) and Aboke HC IV in Kole District (65 points). Other high performers included Panyadoli in Kiryandongo (64), Budaka HC IV (61), Kyangwali in Kikuube (60), Rwamwanja in Kamwenge (60), Wakiso HC IV (60), Kumi HC IV (59) and Budadiri in Sironko (58).
At the bottom of the ranking were several private facilities, with Frost Hospital in Wakiso scoring 10 percent, Kachumbala HC IV in Bukedea (eight percent), and Pearl Medical Centre in Kampala (six percent). Medik Health Centre in Kampala, K.T Medical Centre in Wakiso, and Kingsley Children’s Medical Centre in Mukono and SAS Clinic in Kampala each scored five points. The lowest-rated government facility was Naguru Police HC IV in Kampala, with only 1 point, while Astu HC IV in Katakwi ranked last with zero points.
Dr Atwine also presented the new Health Sector Strategic Plan and the Uganda Health Compact, saying both will guide investments toward universal health coverage, noting that all strategic documents will be accessible online to support district planning. ‘For a long time, we had less proper framework for documenting incidents in facilities. Health workers often struggled to record what went wrong,’ she said. ‘These new guidelines will help clinicians document procedures, side effects and adverse events. Instead of hiding mistakes, we want staff to follow through and improve patient safety,’ she stated.
Dr Atwiine reiterated the ministry’s push for one plan, one budget, warning that off-budget partner funding had long distorted planning. ‘Please entrust your money with the government so we can plan together,’ she said. Mr Joshua Musaasizi, the assistant commissioner for private sector coordination, highlighted the rollout of the Health Partners Portal. The portal is a new digital platform that will track all organisations working in the sector. ‘In the spirit of integration and better coordination, it is now a requirement that all partners working with us register through the portal and with this, national rankings will be made easier all around,’ he said.
Mr Musasizi explained that partners will use the platform to log in, upload their activities, indicate their geographical areas of operation and share their plans and reports with the ministry. ‘There may be concerns about privacy, but the information posted is only visible to the partner and the Ministry of Health, and this registration is mandatory for any organisation already working with the ministry,’ he added.
Factors fuelling poor performance
According to the report released on Tuesday, the best facilities include Mbale and Fort Portal regional referral hospitals, Mengo Hospital, St Mary’s Lacor and Nsambya hospital. The poor performers included Gulu, Jinja and Yumbe regional referral hospitals. Dr Diana Atwiine, who represented the Minister of Health, said some of the poor-performing districts were largely struggling with human resource shortages, and inefficiencies.