By Spy Uganda
Kampala: Since the outbreak of COVID-19, Its confirmed that Uganda has so far spent Shillings 51.8billion on testing truck drivers at different points entry, according to Ministry of Health.
The Health Minister, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng, says each test costs USD 65 (about Shilling 241,000) adding that the only solution is to continue testing until the situation comes back to normal despite the existing challenges.
Latest information shows that over 216,000 tests have been carried out on truck drivers at various boarder points including Mutukula, Adjumani and Elegu among others.
Among these, 144,000 are foreign truck drivers while 72,000 are Ugandans.“We are already in the third stage of the pandemic,” Aceng said.
According to Dr. Henry Mwebesa, the Director General of Health Services, says they have spent 75% of the costs on testing foreign truckers, which he says isn’t sustainable.
However, the Dr. Mwebesa says test kits are scarce on the world market, adding some of the kits the ministry ordered in April are yet to be delivered.
Dr. Mwebesa has requested the East African Community to help pursue the strategy of ensuring pre-testing truck drivers before they enter Uganda.
