Cultural, religious leaders pledge to scale up Ebola fight
Officials from UNDP, Ministry of Health, KCCA, civil society, development partners as well as religious and cultural leaders following the meeting in Kampala last Friday. PHOTO/ COURTESY OF UNDP
BY ESTHER BRIDGET NAKALYA
KAMPALA. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Uganda has partnered with the Ministry of Health, cultural and religious leaders to scale up the national Ebola response.
The initiative leverages on partnerships with the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda, Buganda Kingdom and Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) to improve standards of care and strengthen communication and community engagements to avert the spread of the deadly virus.
Speaking last Friday at the UNDP offices in Kampala, Ms Margaret Muhanga, the State minister for Health, acknowledged the role played by traditional and religious leaders in society.
“We believe that people listen to their cultural and religious leaders and that is why this partnership is important,” she said.
The Executive Director of KCCA, Dr Dorothy Kisaka, said they can defeat Ebola with joint efforts. She said so far, efforts by KCCA against the disease are paying off.
“The city of Kampala has gone 18 days now without a reported case of Ebola. However, the scientists recommends a number of 42 days of no reported cases to be epidemic- free,” she said.
According to Dr Kisaka, KCCA has heightened surveillance in the transport sector, markets and schools as well as stepping up sensitisation campaigns against the disease.
The UNDP Resident Representative, Ms Elsie Attafuah, called for innovative ways of enhancing preparedness to emergencies.
“We are confronting a perfect storm of evolving threats and growing uncertainty where Uganda has to find innovative ways to build system resilience to tackling impacts of multiple crises such as Ebola, flooding, inflation, and hunger, among others,” she said.
Actions
According to Ms Attafuah, UNDP has prioritised the need to support the National Ebola Response in high risk areas.
“To improve the standards of healthcare, we have issued out about five heavy duty washing machines and incinerators towards the response. A total of 20 technical experts have so far been deployed through WHO to minimise transmissions in health centres and communities,” the UNDP representative said.
She also said there has been mass distribution of informative materials through Buganda Kingdom and the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda in form of illustrative posters as well as reflector jackets for the motorcycle riders to spread awareness throughout the communities.
Buganda Kingdom information minister Noah Kiyimba applauded the health workers and support staff for working tirelessly in the prevention of Ebola. He acknowledged that traditional beliefs where Ebola patients have sought attention from traditional healers had escalated the infections.
“We have done training within the kingdom to alert leaders on prevention and methods of handling emergencies. We have also relied on traditional sensitisation methods and fireplaces (ebyoto) to share best practices among young people,” Mr Kiyimba said.
