Kwania district health department has run out of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to support the treatment of coronavirus patient amidst an escalation in the number of cases in the district.
The district registered 59 cases in the past three weeks including eight health workers who were all referred to Lira Regional Referral hospital for treatment raising fear among the frontline health workers. Healthcare workers rely on PPEs to protect themselves and their patients from infection and infecting others.
The district is now appealing to government for more PPEs to support the fight against COVID-19. Dr. Moses Ebong, the Kwania District Health Officer, says they lack essential supplies such as gloves, medical masks and face shields as well as sanitisers for use by health workers handling COVID-19 patients.
“I’d like to appeal to the government and people of Goodwill to come out and support us with PPE and COVID-19 test kits. We have been working under risk, by doing that you will be supporting us in the fight against the pandemic,” he said in an interview.
According to Dr. Ebong, health workers in the district are working under tough conditions without facilitation, unlike last year when the government disbursed Shillings 150 million for the allowances of the health workers.
Some of the nurses and midwives who talked to our reporter expressed fears that if the challenge is not addressed with urgency, they could abandon work. Joan Abuto, the Kwania district local government Health and Education Secretary, says that the rate at which the pandemic is spreading is worrying.
He asked the residents to adhere to the SOPs instituted by the Health Ministry to contain the spread of the pandemic.
Kwania district vice chairman, Geoffrey Eling Owera has asked the public to adhere to the presidential directives. Eling, who is also a health expert, advised the residents to eat a mix of foods to boost their immunity.
In June, doctors under the Uganda Medical Association asked medical workers to lay down their tools should government fail to provide them with PPE. The association noted with concern several cases where health workers had not been provided with PPEs.