Kasese communities demand restoration of ebola screening centres

Kasese, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT  |  Local leaders in Katwe Landing Site in Kasese District are appealing to the District Health Department and the Ministry of Health to restore more than 10 key Ebola screening centres that were closed.

The district last year put in place measures to avert a possible infiltration of the Ebola Virus following threats from the Democratic Republic of Congo-DRC, where more than 2000 lives have been lost in more than one year. The outbreak mostly devastated the South Kivu, North Kivu, and Ituri provinces, which are close to Kasese district in Western Uganda. 

With the frequent cross-border movement for personal travel and trade and the dangers that this presented to the border district, the government set up a number of points where DRC nationals entering Uganda lined up to wash their hands and dip their feet in basins of water containing Chlorine. 

At the centres, temperatures were tested, and all people crossing the borders were counted. Those found with temperatures above 38 degrees celsius would be retained and taken to the Ebola Treatment Unit at Bwera Hospital for further screening and assessment.

But with no new infection recorded since June 2019 at least 10 of the screening centres have been closed. Steven Bagonza, the District Senior Health Inspector says that the district interventions have been scaled due to financial constraints.

However, he maintains that health workers remain focused and vigilant to eliminate any possible threat.

But the leaders in Katwe want the screening points re-established noting that there is still a lot of activities going on between Ugandans and DRC, especially among fishermen on Lake George. 

Katwe Town Council Mayor John Bosco Kananura says that locals and leaders around Lake George are living in fear amid suspicion that some DRC business persons continue to dodge the few available checkpoints and find their way into Uganda. He observes a need to restore the Bwera screening centre, the area being one of the key business hubs between Uganda and DRC.

He says the removal of such points poses a big health threat to the district. 

Henry Monday, a screening officer at Katwe Landing Site says that they are still vigilant on screening as it’s mandatory for every person who is crossing over into Uganda through Katwe to be screened.

Kasaija Robert, the chairperson of Katwe Landing Site says that they have continued to encourage fishermen to be screened at every moment they come on to the lake shores. Kasaija adds that with DRC having no controls on the movement of people, Uganda needs to heighten its vigilance on all entry points. 

However, Komunda Saidi Kalisa, a fisherman says that there are still DRC nationals who cross over to Uganda without going through any screening while others are taking advantage of  dismantled screening points around Queen Elizabeth National Park to find their way into Uganda.

Kalisa calls on the government to re-instate the previous screening points and boundaries in the lake in order to avert the risk.

The Health minister Jane Ruth Aceng has previously said that much as Uganda has contained the disease, there remains a pending threat from DRC.

According to the World Health Organisation, Ebola signs and symptoms normally manifest within 21 days after contact with the virus.

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