FORT PORTAL– The Ministry of Health in partnership with the Centre for Disease Control [CDC] and Baylor Uganda has constructed the regional emergency public health operations centre in Fort Portal City.
The centre, according to officials, will help ease data sharing in the region, especially on the outbreak of diseases like Ebola, Rift Valley Fever and Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever.
Neigbouring, the Democratic Republic of Congo [DRC], Rwenzori Sub-region is prone to disease outbreaks that have manifested in that country in the last five years.
Districts along the border with DRC especially Kasese and Bundibugyo have been experiencing outbreaks of Ebola and Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic Fever that have left many lives lost.
According to the director National Public Health Emergency Operations, Dr.Isa Makumbi, the centre will help them in controlling these outbreaks.
“Rwenzori Sub-region is prone to disease outbreaks but this time we want to control these diseases from the source to stop their spread to other communities,” Makumbi said.
He said the centre would be coordinating the entire Rwenzori Sub-region district to scale up surveillance of infectious diseases and pandemics.
The director of Public Health and Environment at the Ministry of Health, Dr.Daniel Kyabayinza said the centre would act as a command and control center that will communicate all information regarding not only epidemics but also other public health concerns in the entire region.
“The establishment of the center is a relief to the Ministry since they have been responsible for coordinating information flow from all districts regarding health concerns which have been jeopardizing the health systems,” he said.
The Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital Director, Dr. Alex Adaku said the center would help to easily detect diseases and coordinate with the Ministry for intervention.
“We shall be able to analyse data in time and respond immediately with relevant authorities on emergencies unlike in the past,” Dr.Adaku said.
He added that the establishment of the centre is timely and will save the hospital from making uninformed decisions which at times have cost lives due to delays in information flow.
The State Minister for Primary Health Care, Margaret Muhanga Mugisa said government is continuing to strengthen the health care system through capacity building by prioritizing public health.
In 2021, the United States of America [USA] under Risk Reduction Agency in partnership with Uganda Wildlife Authority [UWA] established a modern Bio-safety laboratory level II [BSL2] worth Shs 2 billion at Mweya in Kasese district to enable medical workers to diagnose the emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases from animals to human beings and vice versa.
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