Summary of The Service Delivery Indicators (SDI) Report on Education and Health.


The country is in a serious crisis and we need some self soul searching.

 The report released yesterday (November 19th 2013) by The World Bank and Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC) surveyed 400 schools and 400 health centers across the country indicates that;

 - Only 35% of public health providers could correctly diagnose at least 4 out of 5 very common conditions (like diarrhea with dehydration and malaria with anemia).

 - In health centers that only offer outpatient services, half (49%) of the providers could not identify more than one of these conditions. Worryingly, public providers followed only 1 out of 5 (20%) of the correct actions needed to manage maternal and neonatal complications.

 - Less than 1 in 5 (19%) of public school teachers showed mastery of the curriculum they teach. Years of education and level of teacher training were positively correlated with higher teacher scores.

 Absenteeism

 - More than half (52%) of public health providers were not present in the facility. Sixty percent of this absence was approved, and hence potentially within management’s power to influence.

 - More than 1 out of 4 (27%) of teachers in public schools were not at work. Of those who were in school, about 1 in 3 (30%) were not teaching. The result is 40% of public school classrooms with no teacher teaching.

 - By extrapolation, the average public Primary 4 student in the North received only 50 actual days of teaching time during the school year, about 90 days fewer than her Kampala counterpart.

 Basic inputs

 The adequate availability of priority drugs for mothers and children remains a challenge with only 39% and 23% respectively available in public facilities.

Click here to read the full report

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