The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga has tasked Health Minister Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng to provide parliament with a report on its previous resolution to support Ugandan students in students stuck in China and the steps taken to manage the threat of coronavirus.
The directive stemmed from a brief debate by legislators concerning the limited attention given to public hygiene in the country despite the continued travels made by Ugandans to China, which is battle the coronavirus outbreak.
MPs debated the matter following Kadaga’s communication to the house on Uganda’s lackluster response to the threat of coronavirus, saying her office has received information indicating that Ugandans continue to travel to china in large numbers despite the outbreak of the highly contagious disease.
She cautioned MPs to make use of several sanitisers provided by the Parliamentary Commission at various locations in the Parliament in order to mitigate the possibility of being infected. Kadaga also encouraged the legislators to carry personal hand sanitisers wherever they go.
Kasilo County MP, Elijah Okupa said the availability of masks in the country would be important as a measure against the virus. Katerera County MP, Hatwib Katoto also underscored the need for the country to import enough masks if necessary so that when attacked by the virus, there are enough masks for people to use.
Kagoma County MP, Moses Walyomu Muwanika appealed to the Health Ministry to strengthen awareness and educate Ugandans especially on countries where the virus has been reported so that they can exercise caution.
Kasambya County MP, Gaffa Mbatekamwa said there should be a directive for all public places like schools to put in place control measures. Aringa North MP, Godfrey Onzima asked government to issue guidelines on the virus.
Benard Atiku, the Ayivu County said that as the epidemic continues to ravage countries, government is yet to send support to Ugandan students in China. He demanded an explanation why government has failed to fulfill its promise to support the students.
Kadaga ruled that government updates Parliament on the resolutions taken on the coronavirus epidemic in China.
The African Union (AU) recently noted that only 66 percent of countries in Africa have put in place preparedness mechanisms to handle a case of coronavirus (COVID -19) if it arises. The emergency meeting of Health Ministers convened by the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa on Saturday assessed individual countries’ readiness to tackle the disease and found critical gaps in their capacity to investigate alerts or be able to follow up with people in isolation effectively.
Even as no country in Africa has reported a positive case yet, the AU noted that investing in emergency preparedness for infectious diseases such as COVID is a worthwhile investment when one considers the cost of responding to outbreaks. It cited an example of the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa that was estimated at close to USD 3 billion.
Corona virus continues to ravage China where the disease started in late 2019 with infections currently standing at over 76,392 and 2,348 deaths. Outside China, the disease has affected 1,402 people in 28 countries with some 11 deaths. On Saturday, two new countries including Lebanon and Israel reported cases of COVID-19.
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