USAID Global Malaria Coordinator and COVID-19 Task Force Leader Dr Kenneth Staley said that already the agency has given USD 3.6 million COVID specific assistance to the country but about USD 1.3 million was tagged to activities meant to help refugees and their host communities.
The United States Agency for International Development
(USAID) is working on new assistance to Uganda to revamp coronavirus disease
or COVID-19 prevention and case management in health facilities.
Without mentioning specific amounts
going into the training of health workers, the USAID
Global Malaria Coordinator and COVID-19 Task Force Leader Dr Kenneth Staley said that already
the agency has given USD 3.6 million COVID
specific assistance to the country but about USD 1.3 million was tagged
to
activities meant to help refugees and their host communities.
Now, he said they
are moving into ensuring that health workers are well acquainted with the treatment
protocols, which keep quickly changing with new discoveries as research into
the new disease continues. Dr Starley was speaking during a digital press briefing about USAID's ongoing development priorities and COVID-19 assistance responses in Africa, last evening.
Uganda recently changed their treatment protocols
withdrawing chloroquine from their list and replacing it with another
anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine which has of recent been a subject of
discussion regarding its efficacy in the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
//Cue in; “The health assistance…
Cue out…Last twenty years”. //
He also revealed that they are also discussing continuity of
care with almost all government efforts being directed into the pandemic which
has so far had people test positive in Uganda.
Asked about the sustainability for healthcare funding in Uganda
considering that donating countries like the US have also been hit by the pandemic,
Christopher Runyan, the Coordinator for the USAID Africa bureau said they don’t
know exactly what the future will bring with regards to resource levels.
“As I imagine you know there are no guarantees for years and
years of future funding but of course there is consistent support for Africa
in our Congress which plays the central
role in creating legislation which funds USAID and its programs in Africa”, he
said.
