ARUA REGIONAL HOSPITAL BOARD

26/12/2025

A new TB truck allocated to Arua Regional Referral Hospital. Congratulations 👏. Use it well to serve people.

21/12/2025

Outgoing members of Arua Regional Referral Hospital 2023 - 2026. Center ( in brown kaunda) Dr Sam Okuonzi, Board Chairman. Far right (in navy blue shirt) Dr Alex Andema, Hospital Senior Executive Consultant.

03/11/2025

19/10/2025

19/05/2025

Arua Hospital Board members after a recent meeting.

17/05/2025

When a patient with cancer or other chronic condition that is costly to manage experiences a financial crisis, public health scientists call this phenomenon financial toxicity. It is characterized by being uninsured, low or loss of income, inability to have income, debt, bankruptcy, psychological distress, etc. This new publication from our global research series is about financial toxicity related to thyroid cancer. I have summarized the paper in ordinary language for interested lifelong learners.

Research Summary:

Financial toxicity (FT) is the financial burden and distress that patients and families experience due to medical expenses. This includes high medical bills, low income, debt and bankruptcy, and inability to have an income. It affects a person's physical and mental well-being, making it hard to manage their health and quality of life. Two hundred and seven (207) patients who survived thyroid cancer were studied. The study objectives were to measure FT and its association with psychological distress. A scoring tool was used to measure FT. A distress thermometer was used to measure any associated psychological distress. One statistical model was applied to understand how different factors contribute to FT. Another model was used to assess how FT correlates with psychological distress. The study results showed that FT due to thyroid cancer was 47.8%. Factors associated with FT were young age, uninsured, low income, low education, and advanced cancer. There was a mild relationship between FT and psychological distress. The implication of the results is that clinicians need to identify predictors of high FT early and initiate tailored support to patients and their families.

02/01/2025

As we bid farewell to 2024 and usher in a new year, I would like to take a moment to express my deepest gratitude and appreciation to the entire staff of Arua Referral Hospital. Your dedication, hard work, and commitment to delivering exceptional patient care have been truly inspiring, and I am honored to work alongside such a talented and compassionate team.

In 2024, we achieved numerous milestones and overcame significant challenges, and it is a testament to your collective efforts that we were able to provide high-quality healthcare services to our patients. There is a positive public appreciation of our performance. Our projects are nearing completion, namely: the blood bank, ICU, the dispatch center, among others. Nationwide, we are the second best regional hospital coming from far behind where we were a few years ago. I am proud of each and every one of you, and I thank you for your tireless efforts to improve the health and well-being of our community.

As we look to 2025, I pray that we will continue to work together with unity, diligence, integrity, and compassion. May we strive for excellence in all that we do, and may our patients receive the best possible care from our skilled and caring hands. May we be guided by our core values of empathy, kindness, and respect, and may we always put the needs of our patients first.

I pray that 2025 will be a year of growth, innovation, and success for Arua Referral Hospital. May we build on our achievements of last year and continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in healthcare. May we attract new talent, develop new services, and expand our reach to even more people in need.

To our patients, I want to assure you that we are committed to providing you with the highest quality care, with dignity, respect, and compassion. We will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that your needs are met, and that you receive the best possible treatment and support.

Once again, I would like to thank Dr Alex Andema and each and every member of the Arua Referral Hospital team for your hard work, dedication, and commitment to our patients. I am honored to lead such a remarkable team, and I look forward to working with you all in 2025.

Happy New Year, and may God bless us all as we strive to make a positive difference in the lives of those we serve.

Dr Sam Agatre Okuonzi
Chairperson Arua Regional Referral Hospital
Management Board

31/05/2023

Arua Regional Referral Hospital Board after swearing in on May 31 2023.

31/12/2020

UPDATE ON ARUA ICU

There is information going around that Arua Hospital has a functioning ICU. The hospital staff and patients know this is not true. The press is ringing me to find out the ICU situation on the ground. This is the information I'm giving the press. Get it also directly from me.

This is the update of the ICU situation as of today Dec 31, 2020

Yes, some ICU equipment was delivered but the installation is not complete because some components are missing.

Here are the details:

8 ICU/HDU beds were delivered. Many components were missing.
10 monitors were delivered but there is communication to withdraw 5 back to MOH We are going reject that move.
A MOH Tech officer assessed the functionality of the ventilators on 23 Dec.
More components were delivered on 28 Dec but not yet assembled
2 Ambulances to support Covid emergency services were received in December
The ICU at Arua Hospital is NOT functional.
We await MOH Equipment Division to complete the installation as soon as possible.

Dr Sam A Okuonzi
Hospital Board Chairperson

27/02/2020

The map in 2020. To change for better in 2025