By Walter Okello I 28th April 2026
The Government of Uganda’s decision to provide dedicated power lines to regional referral hospitals is already transforming healthcare delivery across at Lira Regional Referral Hospital and the impact has been immediate and life-saving.
As one of the first beneficiaries in the initial rollout phase, the hospital has moved from frequent power interruptions to a more stable and reliable electricity supply, a shift that doctors say has significantly improved patient care.
Speaking to our reporter, Dr. Andrew Odur, Acting Director of Lira Regional Referral Hospital, explained that before 2025, unreliable electricity was one of the hospital’s biggest operational challenges.
He said they used to receive power from the national grid through a transformer shared with the surrounding community. “Although the hospital had a three-phase connection unlike ordinary domestic users, we were still affected by load shedding and unexpected outages.” he said
According to Dr. Odur, the consequences of such interruptions were severe, particularly in departments that rely heavily on electricity to sustain life-saving services and these include the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), neonatal care unit, dialysis center, operating theatres, laboratories, radiology, X-ray, CT scan services, and the oxygen plant.
“Power is the invisible force that keeps essential hospital services running,” Dr. Odur noted. “When electricity goes off, these services come to a standstill. We either have to wait for a generator or for power to be restored and in emergency care, every second matters.”
He described the dangers posed during surgical procedures, especially at night.“Imagine a patient in the middle of an operation and suddenly the power goes off. The surgeon can no longer clearly see blood vessels or internal organs. That puts the patient’s life at serious risk.”
He added that machines such as dialysis equipment and other life-support systems depend entirely on uninterrupted power.“If a machine is pumping blood through a patient’s system and the electricity cuts off, the process stops immediately. That kind of situation is extremely distressing for both patients and medical staff.”
The neonatal intensive care unit is another area where stable electricity is critical.“Premature babies are constantly on oxygen support and the moment power goes off, oxygen supply is disrupted, and that places their lives in danger.”
According to Dr Odur, the situation changed dramatically after the dedicated power line was commissioned in March 2025.
He said, hospital now receives power directly from Jinja Camp Power Station and has not experienced any outages since then.“Our machines have been running smoothly, and all high-power-consuming departments are operating at their best capacity,” he stressed.
Since the launch of the dedicated power line in March 2025, the hospital now receives direct supply from the Jinja Camp power station and according to Dr. Odur, the difference has been remarkable.“Since then, we have not experienced any power outages. Our machines are running smoothly, and departments that consume high electricity are functioning at their best.”
He praised the government for what he described as a visionary investment in healthcare infrastructure.“This is a wise decision that is saving lives. Stable electricity has drastically reduced the risks associated with blackouts and improved our ability to deliver quality healthcare.”
However, while the power challenge has been addressed, Dr. Odur says water shortages remain a major concern.
He said the hospital requires large volumes of water for dialysis, sterilization, cleaning medical equipment, and maintaining hygiene standards across departments.
“We normally experience water shortages, and this affects our services significantly,” he said. “We urge National Water and Sewerage Corporation to adopt a similar approach so that together we can improve healthcare delivery.”