President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has commissioned Barlonyo Health Center III in Agweng sub-county, Lira District. The Health Center will improve healthcare access for the people of Barlonyo and its neighboring areas.
The new facility comes as a relief to residents who previously walked nearly 10 kilometers to Ogur Health Centre IV for medical services. It stands alongside the already established Barlonyo Agro-Technical Institute, which the President hopes to upgrade into an agricultural college.
Speaking at the commissioning on Friday, President Museveni emphasized that peace and stability have paved the way for such developments. “I’m happy to be here when there’s peace now. This peace is because of what we have all done as Uganda,” he said, noting that past mistakes, particularly sectarian politics, had hindered national stability.
The President also reaffirmed his government’s commitment to infrastructural development, highlighting the completion of Kaguta Bridge, which connects Lira to Otuke, Pader, and Abim districts. However, he urged Ugandans to focus on wealth creation alongside development efforts.
“But I always educate our people that development is for all of us, but poverty is personal,” Museveni remarked. “You have come here for the public meeting, but when you go back, the poverty will warmly welcome you, saying, ‘You left me here, and I’m still here.’”
He encouraged residents to embrace the Parish Development Model (PDM) and practice the four-acre model, which includes coffee, fruits, dairy farming, and poultry. He also promised to study the viability of sunflower and simsim, widely grown in the Lango subregion.
During the event, the President donated Shs. 100 million to SACCOs for local leaders and veterans. Government Chief Whip Hamson Denis Obua thanked him for dedicating four days to touring Lango and promoting wealth creation.
State Minister for Northern Uganda, Kenneth Omona, updated the President on the ongoing process to compensate victims of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgencies. The government has verified 973 victims eligible for compensation, with each set to receive Shs. 20 million.
Akello Christine, MP for Erute North, also expressed gratitude to Museveni for fulfilling his pledge to build the health center. “It was not going to be right if you did not step foot in Barlonyo,” she said. “You came here in 2004 when the people of Barlonyo were in darkness and sorrow, but today we welcome you with tears of joy.”
The Ministry of Tourism is working with Lira District to develop the Barlonyo memorial site into a national museum. The site, a mass grave for 302 civilians massacred by the LRA on February 21, 2004, serves as a reminder of the region’s painful past.
President Museveni, who has been in the region since Tuesday, has visited several farmers benefiting from PDM, a key government program aimed at transforming Uganda’s rural economy.
