Uganda News

Kamuli, October 09, 2021 – The Government of Uganda with support from the Government of Korea through the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), and the World Health Organization (WHO) launched a five-year project to improve Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Services in select districts in the Busoga sub-region. It is a joint project, with the financial support of $10 million dollars, ($9 million from KOICA and $1 million from WHO), and will be implemented in the districts of Bugiri, Buyende, Iganga, Kamuli and Mayuge.

Kampala 20th September 2021:- Uganda launched the Third Edition of the National Guidelines for Integrated Diseases Surveillance and Response (IDSR) at Golden Tulip Hotel in Kampala. The third edition highlights new methods of disease detection, reporting, and provision of real-time surveillance data using new technologies and platforms.

The platforms include event-based disease surveillance, community-based surveillance, one health approach, cross-border surveillance, and electronic IDSR to improve disease surveillance in Uganda at all levels.

Kampala, 21st July 2021: - The Government of Denmark through the Danish Embassy in Uganda has extended a grant worth 5 billion Uganda, Shillings, to the Government of Uganda through the World Health Organization (WHO) towards the implementation of the COVID-19 Resurgence Response Plan developed by the Ministry of Health.

Kampala 15th July 2021: - The Norwegian Government has partnered with the World Health Organization (WHO) in a 12-months project worth over 8 billion Uganda Shillings to improve COVID-19 vaccine coverage and uptake in Uganda. The project intends to support the vaccination of at least 60% (2,879,100/ 4,798,500) of high-risk populations eligible for vaccination. In addition, upon acquisition of adequate quantities of the vaccine, health workers, teachers, security officials, and those with comorbidities will be vaccinated with two doses of COVID-19 vaccine. 

Busoga sub-region in eastern Uganda typifies the social and economic challenges that poor countries are constantly grappling with. Situated in the eastern part of the country and comprising 11 districts with a population of 3,918,500 people, the sub-region is ranked third poorest in the country by the Uganda Bureau of statistics.

As of 22nd April 2021, 83% (883 out of 1060) of health workers in both public and private health facilities in Tororo district, had received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine which provides protection against severe COVID-19 disease, hospitalization, and possibly death in some instances. This is a resounding success considering that in many districts, the exercise has been hindered by hesitancy, even among health workers leading to poor coverage. 

As the COVID-19 vaccination gains momentum in various districts of Uganda, financial, material, human, and logistical resources are becoming increasingly scarce due to the prolonged nature of the pandemic. However, innovative health workers have continued implementing mitigating measures to ensure the COVID-19 vaccination exercise succeeds in the low-resourced environment.

Under normal circumstances, one would expect frontline health workers to be lining up in thousands to receive the much-anticipated lifesaving COVID-19 vaccine that does not only offer scientifically proven protection to them but also saves the lives of the eager patients.

The COVID-19 outbreak has ushered in some strange behaviours among some front-line health workers in Uganda among which is vaccine hesitancy. Who could have imagined that health workers would be hesitant about a vaccine whose benefits they know very well?

Vaccines are largely known to be safe and effective in protecting people against deadly and disabling infectious diseases. Currently, there are vaccines that are effective against over 20 diseases. Overall, it is estimated that vaccines save the lives of up to 3 million people annually.  

However, over time, vaccination programs have faced several challenges prominent of which is the increasing vaccine hesitancy among the public. Hesitancy has particularly affected the newly introduced COVID-19 vaccines including the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

WHO wishes to clarify on an article that appeared in The Observer Newspaper and on its online platform https://observer.ug/news/headlines/68815-allergic-persons-advised-not-t… under the title: “Allergic person advised not to take COVID-19 vaccination”.  

WHO is aware that a small fraction of people – around one person in every one million people vaccinated— may have a severe allergic reaction to the COVID-19 vaccines, known as anaphylaxis.