Africa-Press – Uganda. In a bid to control the spread of the coronavirus in the country, the government plans to establish a Covid-19 taskforce in every village to accelerate awareness.
Dr George Upenytho Duguum, the commissioner of health service at the Ministry of Health, said the strategy is aimed at increasing awareness, building trust and also to enforce compliance with Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs).
“The strategy is part of phase IV response to further suppress the virus and delay the entrenchment of infection spread in the communities,” he said.
Dr Upenytho made the remarks while flagging off an orientation meeting of the National Community Engagement Strategy for Covid-19 response at the Tororo District headquarters on Wednesday.
The meeting was organised by the Ministry of Health with support from World vision.
He said the village taskforce will reinforce the parish, sub-county and district taskforces in government’s effort to eliminate Covid-19.
“The village taskforce will also help in accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) long after Covid-19 has gone,” he said.
The Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Mr Nickson Owole, applauded the ministry for coming up with the initiative, saying it is the best medicine for reducing Covid-19 community infections.
“Some of the community members have been hiding some of their relatives suspected to be suffering from Covid-19,” he said.
However, the Tororo District health officer, Dr David Okumu, said they are registering a decline in infections in the district. “For the past two weeks, only two people have tested positive. This implies that there is reduction in infections,” he said.
On the Covid-19 vaccination exercise, Dr Okumu, however, said there is poor response towards Covid-19 vaccination exercise especially among the targeted workers.
