UGANDA: HEALTH MINISTRY WORRIES OF MORE DAYS OF LOCK DOWN AS HOSPITALS DRY OFF WITH PATIENTS

Tom Aliti Candia Commissioner for Health Services if you enter the Hospitals now you wonder how they are empty, are people not falling sick, or people are suffering down or they are not reporting to hospitals.

Following President Directives on COVID-19 with the last ban on Motor cycles and private cars, access to health care services has slowed down.

The directives moved back the country to maternal and infant high mortality reported in the limited period of time in the country.

GULU-UGANDA: “The directives on public transport doesn’t mean people with emergency health condition can’t be taken to the health facility” Commissioner Aliti.

The Commissioner instead urged health department at local government across the country to mobilize the community to attend to the heath facility for health care services.

He warned the security agencies enforcing the directives for blocking people on their way to health facility even at later hours.

“We have our mothers and children with other disease conditions who need health services on daily basis but it’s sad to note that the security personnel have continued to block them on the way”, why are seeing all these?

Meanwhile, Aliti has disclosed that the 16 Regional Referral Hospitals in the country will soon begin testing the samples of patients or people with suspected cases of covid 19.

He added that the Health Ministry has ordered for procurement of Rapid Diagnosis test   Machines for covid 19 and will be ready in the country in the next two weeks.

He explains that the laboratories in these hospitals will be upgraded to the standard recognized by World Health Organization before their operations begin.

Aliti was however convinced by the commitment of Gulu District Task-force on preparedness and noted that government has planned to establish 30 isolation and treatment centers across the country.

He further noted that districts which don’t have referral hospitals for these isolation center and case management will be put in cluster in the general hospital to be identified in their scope of operations.

He cited on  Agago, Pader, Lamwo and Kitgum which will be in one cluster.

He says, government has allocated fund worth UGX 165 million for fighting the virus and warned on the misuse of the money as opposed to the incident of food relief scam at the office of the prime minister.

“Imagine you are even found with these relief items in your house, this must not be in this funding” Commissioner warns.

However, he has expressed worry that the lock down may be extended for the next 14 days which he says will result into server food shortage in the country.

“If there is no food, many people will go against the directives so that they are taken to prisons where they can get food” Aliti alleges.

However, to Dr. Nickolas Liaing from Oxford University, while the country debates of the likely impact of covid 19, emphasis should be geared towards prevention and case management in the north with poor health facilities.

He presented his finding on what is required for oxygen and ventilation in Acholi Sub Region for preparedness.

“The other countries like Italy, Spain US and France started with a single case or few but see where they are now and this country must prepare especially in the North” Dr. Liaing warns.

The report indicates that oxygen bed capacity in Acholi Sub Region is only 70 while ventilators are 7 comparatively.

“It might not be prudent to wait until 10 to 20 cases have been admitted to hospital before the hospitals are well equipped” Dr. Liaing further warns.