As of today, according to MOH figures, only 47,165 out of an estimated 150,000 health workers have been fully vaccinated countrywide despite them being the first lot for the government to prioritize for vaccination when the jabs first arrived in the country early in March.
The Paramount Chief while speaking to URN during an interview from his Palace in Gulu City, disclosed that it is undoubted that the health workers are operating under harsh conditions with no proper or inadequate personal safety equipment being provided to them while on duty.
Okong says if approved, the number of health worker stock to handle the viral respiratory disease will rise up to over a thousand since they had highest slightly more than 300 personnel during the first wave of infection last year.
At the time of his death, Musiitwa who is survived by a wife and three children had become the District Health Officer (DHO) Kibowa but was also actively involved in care at Kiboga General Hospital where he was once medical superintendent and is thought to have been infected from.
Dr Richard Idro the President of the association told Uganda Radio Network in an interview that they had written to the permanent secretaries in the Ministry of Health and that of Public Service pushing to have a pot to cater for the welfare of the health workers, who are now undergoing treatment.
From collecting an average of about 25,000 units per month, Dr Robert Lubega, the Deputy Secretary-General of the Association says recently they have been collecting under 15,000units.
Folasade Ogunsola, a Professor of Microbiology based at the CDC said during the meeting that there is no use having whole-body coverage with PPE like the case is for Ebola since the coronavirus only affects the respiratory system.
Dr Frank Asiimwe, the chairman of the Uganda Medical Association in charge of welfare said that some medical training institutions just pass out students to beat off competition, yet when they graduate they end up failing to practice or offering substandard service.
Dr Idro observes that while more than a hundred specialist doctors are graduated every year, many of them are not yet deployed yet these are supposed to supervise interns. He adds that many of the deployed specialists are also given administrative posts in the hospitals that don’t allow them time in the wards or theatres.
