Govt buying jabs, ambulances, ICU beds

In the past few months,  social media has been awash with demands for  accountability  for the funds donated  by the general  public  to government  in support of  the Covid-19  response.  
Indeed, the government appreciates the generosity of all Ugandans from all walks of life who contributed  both in-kind and in cash to raise more than Shs29 billion.
Let me refresh your memory and reiterate that all the funds collected were deposited to the National Covid-19 Response Fund. This Fund was established by the President and chaired by Mr Emmanuel Katongole.
The 17-member team of eminent Ugandans ensured transparency, accountability and continuously kept the public abreast with the donations of all kind.
On May 28 , 2020 the 17 members of the National  Covid-19  Fund met the President and  agreed that these  funds be used to procure vehicles  to support  the Covid-19  response  at the time. This meeting was well covered by the media.
Subsequently, a decision  was made to utilise Shs23.9b of the total funds collected  to procure 282 vehicles where each district  is expected to get two brand new Toyota  double  cabin pick-ups trucks.
Of the Shs29 billion, Shs3.3b was earmarked to support construction  of a blood   bank  at Soroti Regional Referral  Hospital.
 Also Shs2.4b was  for the  construction of  port health  facilities at Cyanika and Vurra. The procurement processes  are ongoing.
When news of the arrival of  121  of the 282 double cabins pick-up trucks  was made available  on social media, part of the groups who were demanding  for accountability  of the Shs29 billion changed their mind and  started questioning why government  had prioritised  the vehicles,  not vaccines  or ambulances.
Many districts will have their transport and other logisitical challenges solved when these vehicles finally  arrive after undergoing the registration  process. Some of the newly created districts  have been on a waiting  list for  vehicles  to support activities  such as contact tracing and vaccination .
At the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, government decided to procure 38 ambulances to supplement the current fleet to support emergency medical services.
At the end of last year, the ambulances which include three water boat ambulances had arrived and were dispatched to support the evacuation of patients with Covid-19 related complications.  
To-date, 116 ambulances have been acquired including  these donated by the general public  and other well-wishers. Additional 11 water boat ambulances are expected in the country, procured with support from  GAVI.
The Ministry of Health  is committed  to enhancing the response to Emergency Medical Services by building  a national medical   emergency  service with regional call and dispatch system.
Following the development  of various  vaccines globally, the government  immediately  embarked  on a process of acquiring vaccines  for the Ugandan population.
Several orders have been initiated, however, this has been largely affected by the global demand and scramble for vaccines, the Covid-19 situation notwithstanding.
However, a number  of vaccines  will soon arrive in the country  to enable continuation of vaccination  that is targeting  over 22 million  people.
Government has also built additional bed capacity to cater for the growing number of Covid-19 patients.
It is against this background that Ministry of Health is executing a directive of putting in place a total of 42,000 beds across the country. Over 1,300 beds have been made available and a procurement  of 4,600 standard  beds is underway  from local manufacturers through  the Buy Uganda, Build Uganda strategy.
A procurement of another 11,000 standard hospital beds has been initiated. At least 143 ICU units have been installed  across the regional  referral  hospitals  and procurement  of additional  54 ICU beds is underway.
The Ministry  has developed and is implementing a Covid-19 resurgence plan where the procurement  of vaccines, ambulances, beds and other health  needs like personal  protective  equipment  (PPE), oxygen  plants and test kits are ongoing .  
Mr Emmanuel Ainebyoona is the senior public relations officer at Ministry of Health