WHO trains emergency team for Bududa landslide victims

Apr 13, 2010

THE World Health Organisation (WHO) has trained an emergency team of 508 health workers in the eastern districts hit by landslides and torrential rains.

By Daniel Edyegu

THE World Health Organisation (WHO) has trained an emergency team of 508 health workers in the eastern districts hit by landslides and torrential rains.

Dr. Charles Okot, the focal person for epidemic preparedness and response, said 128 workers in Bududa, Butaleja and Manafwa districts had been trained to handle cholera, dysentry and measles.

He added that WHO had also trained 380 village health teams on basic health care.

Okot said they would be deployed in the rural areas and Bulucheke camp to strengthen disease surveillance.

Village health teams are community volunteers used in health supervision, distribution of drugs and provision of first aid in the rural areas before referral to health centres.

Okot said some of the health teams would be deployed to serve at Bukalasi.

“We have trained 200 teams in Bududa and 180 in Butaleja. Our emphasis is on how to detect and treat the disease,” he said.

“The team members will identify cases at community level and refer them to health centres. In case of a disease outbreak in the camp, we shall use them to search from tent to tent,” Okot said.

“Our biggest fear is an infectious disease outbreak. The congestion will fuel the spread of the disease. This is why we have technical people suppress any outbreak,” he said.

Recently, we recorded a suspected case of cholera in the camp. We sent the stool to Mbale for a test and found that it was diarrhoea, he said.

Okot noted that poor sanitation, coupled with heavy rains, might scale up cases of water-borne diseases and malaria.

He said the situation was still under control. Okot added that WHO had supplied two cholera kits of drugs, intravenous fluids, gloves and oral rehydration salts.

A total of 3,746 people displaced by the disastrous March 1 landslides are currently sheltered at Bulucheke camp, according to the Uganda Red Cross Society.

There are 2,467 children, 2,078 males and 1,668 females. The camp has 271 giant and family-size tents to cater for 932 households.

Heavy rains in the eastern region are expected to last until the end of next month, according to the meteorological department.

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