The leadership of the Ugandan Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization (WHO), and other health partners have visited the Ebola-affected areas of Mubende district to assess the health situation, understand the gaps and strengthen the response to the Ebola outbreak in Uganda.
The delegation led by the Minister of Health, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, highlighted the need to strengthen community surveillance and risk communication as basics in any response outbreak.
Speaking during the National Task Force meeting at the City Hall in Mubende district, the Minister of Health in Uganda, stressed the need to eradicate the Ebola virus.
Mubende said, “Ebola is real, and we need to eradicate this outbreak as early as possible.
The cases we already have in the country are enough and we can’t afford to lose more. Let’s all mobilize our resources being technical, financial, or operational to tackle the outbreak.”
Also, the WHO Cluster Lead for Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases, Dr Bayo Fatunmbi said, “Since the beginning of this pandemic, WHO has always stood by the government to prevent its spread. We have deployed our staff and mobilized operational resources to Mubende district to strengthen the response in case management, risk communication, Infection Prevention, and Control, community engagement, and surveillance.”
Further, Aceng said the team visited communities composed of Community leaders, Village Health Teams, and other members to raise awareness of the outbreak and encourage them to corporate in the response.
She advised, “If you know any person with Ebola or who is a contact, please report. Early diagnosis is very important to reduce the death risk. I want to encourage Village Health Teams to move doors to doors to identify people with signs and symptoms of Ebola”.
