Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng Ocero, the Minister for Health, emphasized that the equipment will address the inadequacies in ICT tools needed by frontline health workers to conduct surveillance and share cross-border health data, thereby reducing the public's vulnerability to disease transmission.
The Health Ministry has dispatched a range of digital
information technology (IT) equipment to strengthen the government's disease
surveillance and collaborative efforts against health crises at international
cross-border points.
The equipment comprises 34 desktop computers, nine
laptops, four tablets, 34 uninterrupted power supplies, 30 extensions, and
access points shared by cross-border sites such as Busia, Malaba, Elegu, Bibia,
Masafu Hospital, and Atiak Health Centre IV in Amuru District.
Dr. Tom Aliti, the Commissioner of Health Services in the
Ministry, told URN on Monday that the equipment has been dispatched to
Kenya-Uganda points of entry at Busia and Tororo, with further deliveries
scheduled for Elegu, at the Uganda-South Sudan cross-border this week.
The assorted IT equipment, valued at Euros 62,000
(approximately 262.4 million Shillings), was donated to the Ministry by the
European Union (EU) in partnership with the German government under the
"EU Digital Solutions to Strengthen Disease Surveillance and Monitoring
Systems for COVID-19" project.
This project is being implemented by GIZ, a
German development agency, and coordinated by the Intergovernmental Authority
on Development (IGAD), an eight-country trade bloc comprising Djibouti,
Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda.
Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng Ocero, the Minister for Health,
emphasized that the equipment will address the inadequacies in ICT tools needed
by frontline health workers to conduct surveillance and share cross-border
health data, thereby reducing the public's vulnerability to disease
transmission.
//Cue in; “This timely donation…
Cue out…disease surveillance system.”//
According to James Macbeth Forbes, the GIZ Uganda Country
Director, the procured hardware aims to improve government data management
practices not only for the COVID-19 pandemic but also for disease surveillance
in general, making the process more efficient and streamlined.
//Cue in; “I would like to…
Cue out…in the IGAD’s region.”//
Similarly, Joselyn Bigirwa, the IGAD's Head of Mission to
Uganda, reiterated the bloc's commitment to a healthier future by strengthening
disease surveillance and empowering health systems through technology to
achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the aspirations of the African
Union (AU) Agenda 2063.
The partners emphasized the importance of united
collaboration in safeguarding the health of over 230 million people in the IGAD
region by providing equipment to strengthen the health information system and
leveraging digital health to optimize health service delivery.
In March 2020, the Heads of State of IGAD countries called
for collective efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 and its outbreak in
the region, requiring a total funding of Euro 8.4 million (approximately 35.587
billion Shillings).
The initiative also aims to implement a regional,
transnational, and real-time monitoring and analysis system (SORMAS) in the
IGAD region to facilitate the flow of health information and data between
Member States for the containment and control of pandemics and prevention of
propagation across borders.
Apart from COVID-19, the Ugandan government has successfully
managed and contained the widespread transmission of other pandemics such as
Ebola and Marburg viruses. According to statistics from the Ministry of Health
and the World Health Organization, Uganda recorded 3,626 coronavirus deaths
since the epidemic began in 2020.
Additionally, the country experienced six
Ebola outbreaks, resulting in 55 deaths out of 142 confirmed cases before the
outbreak was declared over in January 2013. Furthermore, in 2017, Uganda
reported a total of 14 cases of Marburg Virus Disease (MVD), including seven
deaths.
Ochola's journalism career begun from Radio King 90.2 FM in Gulu around 2009, and Radio Rupiny 95.7 Fm under Vision Group in 2012. He also reported for Mighty Fire 91.5 Fm, Kitgum in 2015 before joining Wizarts Foundation in 2017.
He has been reporting for Uganda Radio Network (URN) since 2017 before being posted as Bureau Chief Kitgum, and later Gulu between 2018 - 2021. Currently, he reports from Parliament.
