Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng Ocero, the Minister of Health and Woman MP for Lira City, has been commended for the successful first heart surgeries performed in Lira by the Ministry of Health through the Uganda Heart Institute at Lira Regional Referral Hospital.
The life-saving closed-heart surgical procedures were conducted by a team of expert cardiac surgeons from the Uganda Heart Institute and have benefited a significant number of patients in the Lira Regional Referral Hospital, located in the Lango sub-region of Northern Uganda.
Lira RCC Egole Emmy Lawrence said patients from Eastern Uganda, Acholi, and the West Nile sub-region are coming to Lira Regional Referral Hospital for treatment because of the improved performance of the hospital staff and the efforts put forth by the Minister of Health, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng Ocero.
He criticized some opposition politicians for playing political games by spreading lies and baseless propaganda, which should not be taken lightly by the government of Uganda.
He was accompanied by fellow security personnel such as Deputy RCC Lira City East, Odongo Stephen, ARCC Otucu Boney, ARCC Alele Ferdinand Okello, ARCC Olang Sam, and DPC Lira City, among others.
However, the Minister of Health, Hon. Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng, praised the medical team for their dedication and skill, adding that in April 2025, there will be a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a new laboratory, as Lira University donated 20 hectares of land to Lira Regional Referral Hospital. She urged security personnel in Lira City to investigate the rising levels of murder in Lira City.
On Wednesday, Minister Aceng, speaking from the hospital premises in Lira, stated that the government has a plan to establish 18 regional heart centers across Uganda, bringing cardiac services closer to the people and reducing the need for long-distance travel to Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala.
A live testimony was given by 4-year-old Acen Daisy from Agali Sub-county in Lira District, whose parents, Roben Okeka, had struggled for years to find the right medical care for her heart condition, until the Uganda Heart Institute successfully operated on her.
Dr. Peter Lwabi, the Deputy Executive Director of the Uganda Heart Institute, revealed that Lira Regional Referral Hospital had received eight patients, but due to the complexity of some cases, three will be treated at the Uganda Heart Institute in Kampala. He committed to training medical staff at Lira Regional Referral Hospital on heart diseases, which are among the leading non-communicable diseases silently killing many Ugandans.
The acting Director of Lira Hospital, Dr. Andrew Odur, commended the Uganda Heart Institute and Minister of Health Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng Ocero for this wonderful initiative, emphasizing that it has been a great achievement for Lira Hospital.
