Uganda News

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.

Uganda has battled HIV/AIDS for over three decades and in that time, hundreds of people have died, thousands have survived, and a lot of capacity has been developed. It is, however, the capacity aspect especially at the community level, that has given mileage to Uganda’s COVID-19 response.  

For instance, Kanungu district, in southwestern Uganda has a Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHAs) with a membership of over 7,000 with the purpose of strengthening adherence to treatment and sensitizing communities on HIV/AIDS prevention.

KAMPALA- Friday, 6 March 2021– The Ministry of Health has today received 864,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, shipped via the COVAX facility—the world’s facility for universal access to COVID-19 vaccines.

Edrine Mukalazi a teacher of Literature and English at Insula Secondary School in Kitasiba village in Kyotera district about 60km from Kyotera town on the Mutukula highway has a stunning experience with COVID-19 infection he will never forget. A positive test result and the consequent mandatory isolation made him a village pariah and he nearly starved to death.

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.