Stories From The Frontline

STORIES FROM THE FRONTLINE

Baluku Yosiah, a Research Coordinator looked at Why the Presidential guidelines may not work in Ugandan communities to prevent COVID -19 way back in August 2020.

I commend the President and the ministry of Health for the efforts that have been undertaken to ensure that Ugandans remain safe from COVID-19. I believe that if at the very beginning of the announcement of the pandemic the Presidential guidelines on combattingCOVID-19 had been more focused on equipping and training all Health Centre fours (IV) and district hospital staff in Uganda on the management of COVID-19, the impact would have been more meaningful to the people. As opposed to the centralisation of the COVID-19 response to the government, which made it expensive for the government and gave the impression of a dictatorial management structure lacking community involvement and sustainability.

The Ministry of Health was, at that time, closing the facilities that were found with positive health staffs, I believe this was due to lack of knowledge and skill towards the management of COVID-19 but still wondering how many Health Centre’s were closed and where the community or people that were being saved from that facility went to for treatment of other conditions from now that the facility that was saving them is closed?

People think and believe that COVID-19 doesn’t exist and if it exists then the disease is in Kampala because they have never seen anyone with the disease, the LC 1 OR other leaders are breaking the presidential guidelines who too have abandoned the Presidential directive.

COVID-19 was treated with much more concern without equipping the lower facilities and staff and lower level facilities have been abandoned without staff being trained and no single preparedness has been put in place. More so the preparedness of these lower facilities is about 30% and screening Infrared thermometers give wrong results hence making it very difficult to identify high fevers.

The other gap is with the government relying on security organizations like the Uganda Police Force (UPF) and Local Defense Unit (LDU), these people are important but not in the fight against this deadly disease since the public doesn’t believe in their expertise in handling pandemics like COVID-19. For decades, Ugandans have always celebrated their political local leaders and village health teams, these people would take the message to the last person in the community since they understand their people better than the uniformed men, who have on several occasions been accused of breaching the guidelines they are effecting.

It is important that the Ugandans remain on high alert and diligently exercise preventive measures to avoid contracting COVID-19. The tendencies of leaving some people out of this drive shall affect our goal to flatten the curve. Now that we have a number of community transmissions, let's empower our local leaders and revamp community participation in the fight against COVID-19.

For God and My Country Baluku Yosiah, Health Tutor- Coordinator Research KIU - SONS Kampala International University- Western Campus Tell: +256782835901/756013899 E.mail: balyos766@gmail.com