A dream has come true in Uganda - Fondazione Corti

Lacor Hospital and the local economy
A study assesses the impact of a non-profit business on development
The contribution of Lacor Hospital to the local community
goes beyond the possibility of providing medical
treatment to a population that cannot afford it; it is
a fact we never tire of underscoring.
It is an institution that provides medical services at
highly subsidised rates but also acts as a flywheel for
the local economy, thanks to the direct, indirect and related
financial flows it generates. To verify and measure
these flows, the management of Lacor commissioned a
study to provide a tangible evaluation of the contribution
which the Hospital provides to the community in
terms of its overall economic impact. Financed by the
Cariplo Foundation and Compagnia di San Paolo, the
study drew to a close last December.
A similar study had been carried out in 2003, in the
midst of war. In view of the major social and economic
changes brought about by the peace achieved in 2007,
the Hospital’s management felt it was important to repeat
the exercise, to understand whether the Hospital’s
role and perception had changed significantly with the
context.
The study was conducted by Maurizio Murru, a doctor
and expert in analysing international health policy,
programming and managing medical systems. He has
worked for many years in Uganda, amongst others as a
lecturer at the faculties of Makerere and Uganda Martyrs
University. Dr. Murru was helped by two analysts
with expertise in managing medical services, as well
as three local interviewers for gathering data from the
population, all from the Acholi ethnic group, and who
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were therefore an integral part of the local culture. In
addition to a thorough analysis of the economic data
and activities conducted by the Hospital, the study
involved conducting widespread interviews at all levels
with Hospital staff and management, patients and
their relatives, students at the schools, owners of businesses
near the Hospital and the main suppliers of the
Hospital, as well as with local and district authorities.
Interviews were also conducted in the three peripheral
health centres, which are located in areas more rural
than Lacor (which is located a few kilometers away
from Gulu, the capital of Northern Uganda, with an
estimated population of 150,000 inhabitants).
In particular, the study confirmed that the Hospital
continues to bring a sizeable and increasing flow of
funds into the local economy (€ 2.8 million in the last
financial year), both as aid from abroad and hospital
fees paid by patients from other areas. The latter and
their relatives, during their stay, put further resources
into the local economy with each purchase.
Much of these resources remain in the district, whilst
in any case the rest remain in Uganda: Indeed the Hospital
makes over 45% of its total expenditures in the
area in the form of employee wages and local purchases.
The remainder is spent mainly in Kampala, the capital
in the South of Uganda, principally to buy medicines
and fuel. Only 3% is spent abroad to purchase equipment
not available in the country, such as ambulances.
The employees in turn pour almost all their earnings
back into the local economy, thereby contributing to-
Photo Mauro Fermariello