Uganda News

The recently concluded national elections in Uganda presented one fundamental public health challenge that will be live in the annals of history: How to prevent the spread of a highly infectious disease in a low-resourced setting during an event that by its very nature is meant to congregate thousands of people.

The period between August to December of every two years is cherished among the Bagisu, a tribe in the Mbale sub-region, eastern Uganda. This is the time when the highly revered traditional circumcision ceremony of boys known as “Imbalu” is held.

Kyabasara Primary School in Kagadi district southwestern Uganda is the epitome of a typical Ugandan rural school. A couple of brick-and-mortar buildings facing each other constitute the classes, staffroom, and office; a big compound in the middle and a latrine at the back, complete the school infrastructure.

The school, just like the rest in the country, has a big number of eager students usually in pink or green uniforms ready to imbibe knowledge from their equally eager teachers. They bustle with life, unhinged innocence, and happiness!  

A Regional Partners’ Consultative Forum established by WHO in Gulu district, Northern Uganda has strengthened partner coordination, increased resource mobilization, and created synergies for an effective COVID-19 response.

The coordination has helped to harmonize response activities, foster accountability, and transparency. With WHO technical coordination and guidance, there is now less fragmentation and duplication of response activities.

At about 4:00 pm, a team from the field support team from the World Health Organization (WHO) meets Fahad Barigira, a 24-year-old man on the shores of Lake Edward. He is getting ready for his next fishing shift which starts at 5:00 pm and ends at 7:00 am the next day. 

Fahad is married with one child and has spent three years as a fisherman on the lake. He is part of a three-man fishing crew which includes his brother and a friend. 

Kampala, 3rd December 2020: - Uganda received a consignment of 5 Bi-directional COVID-19 Smart Texting Walk-Through booths, 26,400 RNA Extraction kits and 26,400 PCR Diagnostic Kits worth over one (1) billion Uganda shillings from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to aid in the fight against COVID-19.

Kampala, 30 October 2020: - Lawrence Ahumuza (26), his pregnant wife Magdalene Kembabazi 24 (not real names) and their five-year-old son Prosper are a typical young Ugandan rural family.

They are tea-pickers at Kayonza Tea Producers in Kanungu district Southwestern Uganda. They grow their food around their home, their child attends the nearby local primary school, they get along very well with extended family and neighbours, they are prayerful, and they obey the law.

Kampala, 28 October 2020: - There is a beehive of activity at the construction site of Achwa Hydro-Power Plant (AHPP) in Pader district, Northern Uganda, about 100 Kms from Gulu City. People and machines pace up and down with a determination of beating a set deadline – kind of a race against time.