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. (https://youngmedicalspa.com/) ”
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.
