Ebola Eradication Requires Research Driven Health Centers

By George W. Ntambaazi

My heart goes to all those who have lost their loved ones due to Ebola.  However, as we intensify efforts to control the deadly virus, additional resources are urgently needed for scientific medical research.

The Government is commended for trying to empower health centres and personnel battling the deadly disease and a host of other mysterious diseases afflicting our people to carry out further clinical trials and examinations but much more is still needed.

Health minister Christine Ondoa told journalists last week that sh3bn is needed to fight the deadly Ebola hemorrhagic fever. I am not a medical person but I believe it is more than that.

I am also of the view that we review our strategy in finding out the causes, spread, prevention and cure of these highly contagious diseases.  Our problems might not be the diseases per see; but lack of proper research to offer proper and timely medical services.

Although medics are doing what they can often without even protective gears, however, this business of Ministry of health (MOH) officials sounding over confident that they are on alert to respond to any suspected cases must stop. How then comes that the World Health Organization is calling on other countries and specialists to come to our rescue?

Going by the number of reported deaths and those being monitored, the public is not really convinced that the MOH does have the capacity to handle the situation. In any case, why does the ministry wait for diseases to strike before it takes action?

Ebola was first reported in Gulu in 2000, then in Bundibugyo in 2007 and now in Kibaale in 2012 and we are still ill prepared?

With all the medical expertise we have, no one has been reportedly cured of the disease, MOH efforts are on prevention of further spread.

MOH officials must, therefore, be bold enough and admit the ministry limitations. 

Public officials must stop being defensive all the time. Being defensive is not part of collective responsibility.

Admitting mistakes is human and there is no shame in being wrong on approach or prescribing medication.  Shame is only in failing to correct our previous mistakes and implementing tested and proved recommendations.

Ensuring good health for all Ugandans, a Uganda free of Ebola, malaria, nodding disease, HIV/AIDs, Polio, Tuberculosis, measles, respiratory infections and all other infectious diseases requires serious and committed investment in scientific medical research.

Countrywide research driven health centres with laboratories will build confidence in our health system. There will not even be cause for public officials flying abroad for medical treatment on tax payer’s money.

Functional health centres stocked with all necessary drugs and facilities will save us the shame of isolating patients from their loved ones, tying nodding disease patients on trees, associated stigma and propel further our life expectancy.

One prominent person is reported to have said in early sixties that our problems are poverty, ignorance and disease.  

Almost 50 years later and with all the strides made and more knowledge in the world, the trend of our problems seems to rather be in reverse order: Disease, ignorance and poverty, I mean poverty of the mind!

The Government must look into this.

The writer is a concerned Ugandan so scared of Ebola and other contagious diseases