Health Ministry to prioritize funding to tackle disease outbreaks

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Health will in 2020 prioritize raising funds to address disease  outbreaks.

Last year, a number of disease outbreaks were reported in the country. These include cases of measles and rubella, cholera, malaria and three confirmed cases of Ebola.

Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, the Minister of Health, says that the ministry will focus on re-enforcing their surveillance system at all levels.

According to the minister, this will include; paying health workers on time and making sure that all village health workers on the ground are properly facilitated to carry out their work.

“Ebola broke out in 2018 and we have had a system that we used since then and that is the same plan that we plan on using during the New Year. The only difference is what we plan on making is availing constant funding to be able to quickly respond to any outbreak,” Dr Aceng said.

Each frontline health worker placed at any border point during the Ebola outbreak in DRC is paid 51,000 shillings as a daily allowance.

In March 2019, Ebola simulation exercises carried out by WHO and the health ministry revealed that health workers at border posts were fatigued and had become complacent. It also revealed that some health workers were not receiving their allowances on time.

Dr Aceng says they are going to focus on keeping the morale of the health workers to make sure they remain alert.

“We rely heavily on the health workers in the field because they let us know what is happening. We are planning on making sure we keep their morale up by paying their allowance on time,” Dr Aceng said.

To increase on available funding to manage outbreaks, the health ministry is planning on opening a national institute of public health. According to the health ministry, the institute once formed will receive funding from the International Association of National Public Health Institute.

Dr Aceng says that while government contributes money towards managing outbreaks, the ministry faces challenges getting money during the transition from one financial year to another.

“When we get a challenge during that time it is very difficult to manage it. The president has given a go-ahead and we are going start working on the legal document in the coming year and once we do this, the ministry will have enough funds on our account that will not be returned to the consolidated fund. This money will enable us handle any outbreak when and if it happens,” Dr Aceng said.

The minister adds that the ministry is also going to strengthen their surveillance on the ground to follow up with any cases that arise quickly.

In November, President Yoweri Museveni gave the health ministry a go-ahead to create an autonomous National Institute of Health. Minister Aceng says that they are going to start working on legal documentation for the institute in the first quarter of 2020.

Dr Yonas Woldermariam, the WHO country representative says that funding is vital during any disease outbreak. He says having a steady supply of funds can make the difference between stopping an outbreak and spreading it.

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