UNDP tips Ugandan professional drivers on Ebola preparedness
UNDP Uganda Operations Advisor, Abdourahmane Dia, described transport workers as indispensable partners in safeguarding public health because they connect communities, facilitate trade and ensure the continued movement of essential goods and services.
Thousands of passengers and long-distance truck drivers travel daily between districts and across Uganda's borders. (File photo)
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The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has tipped Ugandan professional drivers on how they can prevent the spread of the Ebola virus disease as frontline workers.
UNDP Uganda Operations Advisor, Abdourahmane Dia, described transport workers as indispensable partners in safeguarding public health because they connect communities, facilitate trade and ensure the continued movement of essential goods and services.
"Transporters are critical partners because they connect communities and help keep trade and essential services moving amidst outbreaks. It therefore becomes very important to keep you safe as well as support you to operate a safe workplace environment," Dia said.
He was speaking during the handover of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and Infection Prevention and Control equipment to professional drivers under their umbrella body, the Uganda Professional Drivers' Network (UPDN) at Nateete Transport Terminal in Kampala today, July 16.
Among the list of items handed over were: 145 infrared thermometer temperature guns, and 63 20-litre pedal-operated units of water containers and tanks, as well as 63 stands for water containers (water tank stands).
Other donated items included 510 pairs of disposable plastic gloves, 710 containers of liquid detergent soap, 950 bars of soap, as well as 710 cans of hand sanitisers.
The UNDP intervention forms part of the ongoing efforts to enhance Uganda's preparedness and response to the Ebola Virus Disease through improved hygiene, public awareness, Risk Communication and Community Engagement, as well as community-led prevention.
Dia reaffirmed UNDP's commitment to support Uganda's Ebola preparedness, noting that strong partnerships among government agencies, transport associations, and development partners are essential towards protecting both lives and livelihoods.
He explained that the transport sector occupies a strategic position in disease surveillance and prevention because it links communities across the country and connects Uganda to neighbouring states through international border crossings. The development comes at a time when the health ministry has discharged the last Ebola patient, who has been undergoing treatment at Mulago Hospital.
Dia said the provision of hygiene supplies, coupled with public awareness campaigns, would strengthen infection prevention measures and encourage safer practices along major transport routes.
"The supplies should be properly used and maintained while all stakeholders continue following Ministry of Health guidelines because preparedness is everyone's responsibility," he noted.
"Thousands of passengers and long-distance truck drivers travel daily between districts and across Uganda's borders, including routes connecting the country to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, making transport terminals strategic points for promoting hygiene, early disease detection and public awareness," he said.
Ndugu said the equipment will be distributed to bus terminals, taxi parks, truck driver associations and other transport institutions to improve hygiene standards and reduce the risk of disease transmission.
He thanked the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Works and Transport and KCCA for their continued guidance and oversight, and UNDP for supporting the transport sector's contribution to national health security.
According to Ndugu, strengthening hygiene practices among bus operators, taxi operators and long-distance truck drivers goes beyond Ebola preparedness to creating healthier workplaces, improving passenger safety and building a more resilient transport system.
Ndugu noted that protecting transport workers ultimately protects communities they serve because of the critical role they play in connecting people, goods and services across Uganda and the wider region.
The initiative highlights the growing recognition that collaboration between government, development partners, local authorities and organised transport institutions is essential for strengthening Uganda's capacity to respond to future public health emergencies while safeguarding economic activity and regional mobility.
Ndugu said they will work with beneficiary institutions to encourage proper placement, use and maintenance of the materials, while continuing to support public health messaging, Risk Communication and Community Engagement, and community-led reporting of suspected public health risks within the sector.