PUBLIC REACTIONS ON EBOLA

Letters December 10, 2007

We are in for a rude shock. The Uganda Medical Workers Union has thrown in the towel and opted to retreat from the Ebola frontline. (Daily Monitor, December 6)

Dr Apollo Nyangai, chairman of the medics’ union has asked under-resourced and unprotected health workers attending to Ebola patients in the worst hit district of Bundibugyo to leave immediately.

I am shocked, not by this decision but by the revelation that these health workers who accept to risk their lives fighting Ebola, do so amidst negligence by the government and without risk allowance.

This comes against government claims that the country’s health sector has made tremendous progress with the ratio of health workers to the population being 1:15 000. Going by these statistics, the death of the four medics in the last one week has left about 60,000 Ugandans without a qualified health worker.

Dr Sam Zaramba, director general of Health Services, earlier this week claimed, “All medical staff dealing with Ebola have been issued with protective gear.”
This government should wake up and begin to take the lives of its citizens more seriously.

Paul Amoru

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I am disappointed at how our government has handled the Ebola oubreak . The New Vision on December 4 reported the deplorable state of our health centres in Bundibugyo.

Yet we all know that Ministry of Health was among those ministries whose budget was slashed this financial year to support Chogm activities. It appears our government valued Chogm more than her citizens’ lives.

Werikhe Gerald Wanzala

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I was shocked after reading Daily Monitor article of December 8 that our President wants to upgrade to a new Presidential Jet G5. Does Mr Museveni still care for ordinary Ugandans or is more interested in his comfort? It defeats logic.

When shall we ever get our priorities right? Doctors and nurses in Bundibugyo are dying of Ebola because they lack basic necessities like gloves while our head of state is busy demanding a new presidential jet! Incredible people, incredible world.

Sunday. LLondon

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There is no doubt that a national health crisis hangs over Uganda today. Uganda Medical Workers Union is reported to have asked all health workers who are not provided with protective gear to avoid handling suspected Ebola patients and vacate the ‘battlefield’ immediately!
The health workers’ union is not being helpful to the national fight against the killer disease. Uganda is at war with Ebola and the only soldiers trained to fight it are doctors.

These soldiers (doctors) are obviously under-equipped and overstretched, but they are the only fighting force we have! Now the health workers’ union is effectively calling for mass desertions from the frontline which will leave Ugandans dangerously exposed.

What our health workers’ union should be doing is to launch a sustained campaign for better working condtions for all health workers in Uganda, not just those handling Ebola patients. Scores of health wokers in this country face a daily and unacceptably high risk of getting infections from their patients because of poor protection. Some of these have already paid the ultimate price of death.

But as of now the health workers union should be encouraging the medics to remain in the trenches because we are already under attack. We must fight back with the little we have. Launching a fear generating campaign in the press will only boost the enemy-- Ebola. Our treasured colleagues should not die in vain.

Dr Watiti MasokoyihMbale

EBOLA IN UGANDA

Have emergency fund for Ebola epidemic

At last it happened. Last week a team of health officials were dispatched from the Ministry of Health in Kampala, and 10 other international health experts to reinforce the rapid response capability in the Ebola-hit district of Bundibugyo. Thank you.But the first case of Ebola outbreak was reported on November 10 in that very district. What was the government of Uganda waiting for? It is painful to have a government which will lose no sleep even upon the news of Ebola outbreak.The helpless taxpayers of this government had to wait for nearly two months as the disease spread to over 14 villages and 16 lives perished, before experts could leave their comfortable offices in Kampala.In October 2000, a total of 173 people died and 426 others were diagnosed with Ebola in northern Uganda. That was our very first encounter with Ebola. Today, Ugandans expected to see a better and well coordinated response from the government. Ugandans rightly expected the Ministry of Health this time to exude confidence and a sign of preparedness in dealing with this epidemic. But what do we see now? Confusion and nearly a repeat of the tragedy we saw in 2000. Dr Sam Zaramba, the Director General of Health Services, attributed the rising rate of infection to free human movement and people’s ignorance of the disease since September. This is because after 2000, the government went back to sleep only to wake up to another surprise attack of Ebola.Just like in 2000, we are again losing health workers. How do you explain that? Are they also ignorant or are they ill-equipped and exposed to the deadly virus? It is a shame. The government should take radical and aggressive response capability to contain the situation. That is just in case there is any money in the government coffers to effectively facilitate the fight against Ebola. We understand it was expensive to organise Chogm. But just in case anything is still left in the treasury, please save the lives of innocent Ugandans.

Paul Amoru,Kampala