According to a recent research, Ugandans lack faith in the police.
Only 5% of Ugandans, according to a recent study by the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Twaweza, expect police assistance in medical situations.
The findings of the study “Responding to emergencies: Ugandan citizens’ experiences and opinions on emergency situations and services” are based on information from the Sauti za Wananchi survey, Africa’s first nationally representative high-frequency mobile phone survey.
The findings are supported by data collected from 3,000 Ugandans during September and October 2021.
This shows that a small percentage of Ugandans expect to get medical help right away by calling conventional emergency response services.
“Only a tiny number of Ugandans expect to call emergency response services (8%), or the police (5%), and get help right away. According to the survey, “men are more likely to seek help from a hospital (43% would go to hospital against 35% who would seek help from spectators), while women are more likely to seek help from passersby (43% would do so versus 35% who would go to hospital).
“Interestingly, in the Eastern region, people seem to have little faith in the people around them: 1 out of 4 (28%) would seek their help, while 55% would go directly to hospital – higher than in any other region,” the report continues.
Violet Alinda, Twaweza’s Uganda country lead, says they also discovered that poorer and less educated Ugandans receive poorer emergency medical treatment.
The findings emerge as the Ministry of Health implements rules and recommendations as part of the National Emergency Medical Services Policy.
