Uganda has heightened its preparedness towards emerging disease outbreaks by launching a national action plan that will enable government work in a coordinated manner. 

The plan titled, “Uganda National Action Plan for Health Security Monitoring and Operational Planning”, was launched by the third deputy Prime Minister and minister without portfolio Rukia Nakadama, at Ridar Hotel in Seeta on Friday. 

Dr Immaculate Nabukenya, the team leader for the national action plan, said part of the activities in the plan include; prevention, detection and response. 

These are further broken down into training health workers to respond to emerging threats, strengthening laboratory services, preventing diseases, as well as setting up laws and policies to use during emergencies. 

Other activities include risk communication plans, immunisation, zoonotic disease surveillance, public health emergency management, setting up emergency operation centres and other hazards and points of entry. 

“Uganda has had so many disease outbreaks as well as many public health emergencies including diseases transmitted from animals, the food we eat, and the drugs we consume among others. We, therefore, want to work in a coordinated manner and avoid repeating what each other is doing. But also, this will help us account and report back to each other,” Nabukenya said. 

She said funds amounting to sh9bn, will be drawn from Government and development partners. 

The Office of the Prime minister will be the overarching body that will spearhead response working closely with ministries of health, agriculture animal industries and fisheries, water and environment, tourism, Infectious Diseases Institute and Makerere University. 

Other supporting agencies include the World Health Organisation, Centres for Disease Control and Resolve to save lives. 

Dr Andrew Kambugu, the executive director Infectious Diseases Institute said Uganda is a model country when it comes to responding to disease threats given the investments made thus far.

“Uganda is one of only two countries that were part of the global health security pilot for the joint external evaluation. The other country was Thailand. Through these efforts Uganda has been in the spotlight in terms of providing a model on how to respond to disease threats,” he said. 

Nakadama called for continuous vigilance, especially along the borders of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya and Tanzania, saying health threats are growing more dangerous. 

“Climate change has also made it easy for disease vectors like mosquitoes to cover more territory. We must be prepared to prevent, detect and respond to all these threats,” she said. 

Uganda has in the last five years experienced a number of zoonotic disease outbreaks including; Anthrax, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, Ebola Virus Disease, Marburg virus disease and Rift Valley fever. 

Zoonotic diseases are diseases or infections that are naturally transmissible from vertebrate animals to humans or from humans to vertebrate animals, according to WHO.