The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Global Fund has approved US$2.9M (approximately Shs10.8billion) for the procurement of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for field teams involved in the recently launched mass mosquito net distribution campaign, the Health Ministry has revealed. The team is expected to distribute Shillings 27 million nets countrywide.
The funding is in addition to the Shillings 447 billion that Global Fund together with the United States government contributed towards the procurement of masks. According to the Health Ministry, there will be no mass gathering in the new mosquito distribution campaign that will last till the end of year.
Transportation of the nets that will be distributed by Village Health Teams-VHTs door to door has been handed to the National Medical Stores. Dr. Jimmy Opigo, the Malaria Control Programme manager said they had delivered bed nets to 134 sub counties out of the 398 earmarked to benefit from the first round of distribution by Wednesday.
The first round will target 25 high malaria risk districts including Namutumba, Paliisa, Bukwo, Dokolo, Lira, Soroti, Kween and Kibuku. Others are Bududa, Budaka, Mbale, Serere and Namisindwa among others. The Ministry of Health says because of the pandemic, the cost of conducting such campaigns has gone up affecting their earlier budgets.
Opigo says they have had to incur extra costs with a change in the method of delivery of masks. In addition to providing PPE that global fund has financed, Opigo says they hadn’t planned for people who are to deliver the nets door to door but now they have to facilitate them.
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