This blog was originally posted on the CapacityPlus website.

IntraHealth's Dykki Settle was excited to show me his photos from his latest trip to Uganda to support the launch of the country’s HRHIS.

As we breezed through his shots, Dykki picked out a few to linger on and tell me stories about. One stood out in my mind.

“I passed this shoe rack during a tour of Mulago National Hospital in Kampala,” Dykki recalled. “The senior principal nursing officer was taking us around to show us how low staffing was affecting care (as few as 2 nurses on night duty for a critical care ward of 80). The shoe rack was such a poignant image of the challenges, I couldn’t pass it up.” 

In this picture taken on his iPhone, Dykki was able to show what so many patients in countries where we work must encounter on a daily basis: there aren’t enough health workers present to deliver the health services needed. In this case, the shoes show there are no doctors and only 1.5 nurses.