Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng Ocero, the Minister of Health who also doubles as the Lira City Woman MP, said that although people think such a disease is no longer common and therefore place less emphasis on it, bilharzia is one of the tropical diseases, which still affects so many people across the country.
At least 86.5% of the people
with Bilharzia in Lira district have received treatment. The district registered 26% prevalence in Agali, Aromo, Agweng, Bar, and Ogur sub-counties, higher than
the 10 percent threshold set by the World Health Organization.
Bilharzia also known as schistosomiasis is a
neglected water-based, vector-borne disease transmitted indirectly through
freshwater snails. The high number of cases in Lira district compelled the Ministry
of Health to embark on a mass drug administration campaign for persons from 5
years and above in the affected sub-counties starting on February 25, 2022.
By March, 205,316 people had received treatment against a target
population of 237,121. Rashid Mwesigye Etwop, an Entomologist and the
Vector Control Officer, who blamed the increase in the number of cases on poor
diagnosis, says the Mass drug administration program was a success.
He
explained that some people within the eligible age group did not receive the
medication for various reasons, the common one being pregnancy in women.
Eng byte:
//Cue in: “schistosomiasis is also…
Cue out: … all the community,”//
Etwop advised the communities in the affected sub-counties to not only embrace drug administration programs but also take
precautions when fetching water in order to eradicate the disease once and for
all.
Eng byte:
//Cue in: “We need to…
Cue out: … you get infected,”//
Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng Ocero, the Minister of Health who also
doubles as the Lira City Woman MP, said that although people think such a
disease is no longer common and therefore place less emphasis on it, bilharzia
is one of the tropical diseases, which still affects so many people across the
country.
“While progress has been made, it is not
substantial and our people continue to suffer from the complications of bilharzia.
That is why we re-launched our efforts in the fight against bilharzia,” said
the minister. Prudence Beinamaryo, the programs manager of Bilharzia and worm
control in the Ministry of Health, says that both Lira City and District have
many cases of Neglected Tropical diseases including bilharzia.
Eng byte:
//Cue in: “We have many…
Cue out: … over 7 million people.”//
But Lawrence Egole, the Lira Resident City
Commissioner blamed the community for neglecting their health and leaving
everything in the hands of the government.
“We are not doing what is
expected of us because we are responsible for some reasonable percentage of our
health but we neglect a lot and give room for some of these diseases to invade
our territory even what we can do by ourselves. We expect the government to
come in,” he said.
Currently, 91 districts in Uganda are endemic to
Bilharzia with some areas having persistent infection while others have
realized substantial improvement.
