Women’s council to register healthcare emergency cases in villages

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The National Women’s Council has unveiled a new model to identify and address emergency cases involving women in the communities in the course of the coronavirus lockdown.

Under the new 15-Household model, representatives of National Women Council at every village will be tasked to closely monitor homes with expectant mothers and patients and help them secure movement clearances from Resident District Commissioners.

The move comes in the wake of a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, which led to a 14-day suspension of both public and private transport as a measure to control the movement of people. Under the arrangement, all persons intending to seek healthcare services were advised to seek movement permits from their respective RDC’s.

But this has resulted in public outcry after hundreds of women failed to secure permits putting their lives at risk. Many women are also unable to go for their routine checkups after failing to secure the permits.

The chairperson of the National Women Council Hajjat Faridah Kibowa told journalists in Kampala that the council now intends to ensure that all women get services as and when they need them. Kibowa also observed an urgent need to maintain critical sexual and reproductive health services at regular health units and quarantine centres.

Meanwhile, Kibowa alerted the security forces to keep a keen eye on cases of violence that have seemingly increased during the lockdown. She says that the prolonged confinement of families is a recipe for sexual and gender-based violence especially when one is trapped into quarantine with an abusive partner.

She equally cautioned women against being provocative.

******

URN