Gulu health experts warn against rising trends of self-medication

14 July 2026, 11:56 am

By Emmanuel Mwaka and Brian Oloya.

Health experts have raised serious concerns over the increasing practice of self-medication, warning that it exposes the public to severe health risks and critically delays proper medical treatment.

Speaking on Speak FM Monday 13 July 2026, the Assistant Health Educator for Gulu District, Mr. Patrick Kalong, explained that many people resort to self-medication due to peer influence from friends and relatives. He also cited systemic challenges, such as a lack of transport money to travel long distances to the main hospital. Furthermore, Kalong noted that previous experiences with similar illnesses often lead individuals to mistakenly believe they already know the right medicine to take.

Dr. Joseph Okello, a medical professional from the way to light medical center in Gulu city, echoed these concerns, adding that the fear of paying consultation fees pushes many patients to buy medicines directly from pharmacies or drug shops without seeing qualified health workers.

According to Dr. Okello, self-medication remains widespread because existing pharmaceutical regulations are not strictly enforced. He urged the government to strengthen regulatory frameworks on drug sales.

Walter from Koro highlighted the economic pressures driving the trend. He pointed out that high treatment costs at some private health facilities—where malaria treatment can skyrocket to between Shs 80,000 and Shs 100,000—combined with exhausting waiting hours at government hospitals, force many people to take matters into their own hands.

Mr. Kalong acknowledged that government facilities currently face shortages of healthcare workers, which directly leads to delays in service delivery.

He urged citizens to prioritize professional medical consultations over self-medication, emphasizing that a proper diagnostic test is the safest way to protect one’s health.