Uganda Can Only Prevent Not Treat Covid-19

by Valerian Kkonde

PEARL NEWS SERVICE

The world will only be considered free from the Coronavirus after a vaccine has been developed. IJNET Photo

The Member of Parliament for Kyotera has called upon Ugandans to do whatever it takes to avoid the transmission of the Coronavirus within communities, warning that Uganda can only prevent the Covid-19 but cannot treat it.

Robbina Ssentongo, the Woman MP for Kyotera, sounded the warning while on the Central Broadcasting Corporation (CBS) 89.2 FM Radio on 5^th May 2020 for the programme Kkiriza Oba Gaana which literally means believe it or not.

“I am a member of the Parliamentary Committee for Health and HIV. I know the state of health in Uganda. It is a precarious situation.’

By this time Uganda has tested 38,845 people and only 89 have tested positive for the Covid-19 pandemic. To the delight of many, 55 people have been treated and discharged after recovering. No Coronavirus-related death has been registered.

As the numbers of people testing positive for the virus increase, mainly from the truck drivers, the Rapid Response Survey Team has been dispersed to the different parts of the country to test randomly the border communities, truck drivers, security personnel, medical workers, patients in medical facilities and people deemed to have had contact with these groups of people.

For many people, the fact that no Coronavirus – related death has been registered has been mistaken for the country’s ability to treat the virus. But this is not true.

 As a member of the Parliamentary Covid-19 Monitoring Committee, Robbina said that she has moved around the country to establish the state of readiness put in place by government to prevent the spread of the pandemic and treat those who are infected.

The Parliamentary Covid-19 Committee is mandated to monitor how equipped are the government hospitals with Personal Protective Equipment, Intensive Care Units, Wards and information flow to the public.

“Uganda can only prevent the transmission of the Coronavirus but cannot treat Covid-19. The figures of those treated and discharged are only at the elementary stage. If we are to get the type of cases we hear of in Europe and America, that is when you will come to appreciate that we are just playing around.

A Covid-19 patient takes up to 16 days to recover.

“In Hoima referral hospital we found only one ambulance which belongs to the area MP. Fort Portal had none!”

Hon. Robbina further revealed that in other hospitals they found two rusty beds and that was all they had put in place to prepare for the pandemic. She also pointed out that there is a lot of politicking on the government side but that they cannot follow that up at the moment as their main concern is to save lives.

“We the people are the ones responsible for safeguarding our lives. We must do whatever we can to avoid mass infections because we shall not be able to handle the situation. Nobody should doubt this.”

The Kyotera constituency includes Mutukula border post which has turned out to be a dangerous transmission spot of the Coronavirus to Uganda. Robbina said that 11 of the 30 truck drivers were got from the Mutukula border.   

From 1980 to 1986 this same area was massively struck by the HIV/AIDS. Tanzania was said to be the source of the virus which at first was wrongly taken for witchcraft. The area was devastated to the extent of bringing forth a generation of child-headed families. If the Coronavirus is to hit hard as well, this will be a second devastation.

Hon. Robbina Ssentongo is popularly known as Maama Kitovu Mobile after her treatment of AIDS patients through this health programme initiated by the Catholic Church in Kitovu hospital to reach out to those infected and affected.

A day earlier, President Museveni had told the country that trucks will continue to ply the East African region “although Uganda will suffer, but that the country would not collapse.”

Robbina accused the president of injustice for “allowing Tanzanians to come and transmit the virus to Ugandans who are in lockdown.” But she warned Ugandans against dropping guard.

“Be vigilant and innovative. Inform the security and health officials of any suspicious person in your areas.”

As MP of this area and a person who worked here for years during the HIV challenge, Robbina knows very well that controlling the movements at the Mutukula border is another challenge which calls for more tough actions than words. She admits that cross -border families offer a big challenge just as farmers and traders.