By Spy Uganda
The Minister for Health Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng is set to address the nation today, May 14, 2020, at 3:00 Pm about government’s progress in fighting the deadly Coronavirus (COVID-19).
This was revealed in a tweet from the Ministry stating thus; “The Minister of Health, @JaneRuth_Aceng will update the public on the health sector’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic today, Thursday 14 May 2020 at 3:00pm. She will be accompanied by the Ministerial Scientific Advisory Committee.”
The Minister’s address comes at a time when Uganda has successfully fought the COVID-19 pandemic, whereby although the registered cases have since risen to 139, no death has been recorded so far.
Officials from the Ministry revealed in a tweet on Wednesday that 13 new cases of COVID-19 had been registered.
“Today,13 May,2020, 13 new COVID-19 cases confirmed from 1,741 samples of truck drivers bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases to 139, with 55 recoveries.
The new cases are 7 Ugandans, 5 Kenyans and 1 Eritrean who arrived from Tanzania, South Sudan and Kenya via Mutukula, Elegu and Malaba,” a tweet from the Ministry of Health reads.
It should be noted that Uganda has a robust health sector development plan that seeks to, among other goals “accelerate movement towards Universal Health Coverage with essential health and related services needed for promotion of a healthy and productive life”.
The health of the population is central to the socioeconomic development of the country. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly threatens to undermine and derail the gains the country has achieved in improving the health and social-economic development of Uganda.
To ensure that the country responds adequately and mitigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Health (MOH) embarked on the development of health guidelines through a consultative, participatory and transparent process with the involvement of all stakeholders.
The first pragmatic step by the MoH is providing technical leadership in aligning and standardizing national and district management of COVID-19 suspected, probable and confirmed cases.
The health guidelines, which include staying home to avoid contact with people, wearing face masks when in public, washing hands with soap and sanitizer, not touching the nose, mouth and eyes, among others, should be used by all health care providers in Uganda, including those working in the public and private sector.
The Ministry of Health would like to express its sincere appreciation to leadership of the Case Management pillar, WHO, UNICEF, UNHCR, CDC, USAID, IDI, Last Mile Health and all key stakeholders and partners, who supported the development of these guidelines.
