Bravo, but let Ebola not surprise us again

Uganda was last week declared Ebola-free after battling the outbreak for about four months.

We would like to congratulate the medical workers who worked so hard to contain this disease. In the same vein, we would like to remember those health workers who died in the line of duty and other ordinary persons who succumbed to the disease.

It is likely that this outbreak may happen again in this country and this time with severity if lessons are not learnt at all. This was the eighth outbreak since 2000. In 2000, slightly over 200 persons were killed by this disease. And some of those killed were health workers who were trying to save lives.

This last outbreak killed about 55 persons and six of them were health workers. The director general of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Dr Tedro Adhamon Ghebreyesus while commenting on Uganda’s declaration on Ebola reminded the Health ministry to take advantage of the candidate vaccines available.

Uganda is already involved in researching the latest Sudan Ebola strain. Uganda being surrounded by volatile and vulnerable neighbours and also being one of the countries that receives a lot of refugees, should be arming itself with vaccines.

It should work from the position that it is a question of time before Ebola rebounds. Uganda should start a campaign to vaccinate the citizens and also encourage the neighbours who are equally vulnerable to do the same. Another outbreak should not catch the country napping.

The government of Uganda needs to commit enough financial resources, first, to train health workers to handle such outbreaks. Financial preparedness means that the country has a bufferfund to take care of epidemics and outbreaks and we should not rely on the mercy of international donors.

Experience has shown that a stick in the neighbour’s hut cannot be relied on to kill or prevent a snake attack. The health workers not only need scientific knowledge but also reliable protective equipment.

The country needs to harness a body of experts who can contain the outbreak. The global health networks should also be involved so that this does not look like an isolated effort of Uganda alone. So, we pray that should the unthinkable happen again, Uganda’s preparedness would be up to scratch.