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AFHEG Foundation and King Ceasor University Launch the AMR Club

AFHEG Foundation Joins Forces with King Ceasor University to Launch the AMR Club, Raising Awareness on Antimicrobial Resistance

On September 14, 2024, the AFHEG Foundation joined King Ceasor University in launching its Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Club, marking a significant step in the university’s fight against one of the most pressing global health threats today. This collaboration emphasizes the importance of community health solutions for antimicrobial resistance and the role of education in combating AMR.

The AMR Club President at King Ceasor University, Brendah Hildah, addresses students about the importance of the club in the community.

Attended by 50 medical students and lecturers, the event highlighted the power of collaboration and innovation in tackling AMR, especially within local communities. The gathering showcased the commitment of students and educators to promoting health literacy in Uganda.

The event opened with a warm welcome from Dr. Okello Bazil, patron of the AMR Club, who emphasized the importance of following proper medical guidance. He reminded the audience to “complete the full course of medication and avoid self-medicating,” noting that adhering to prescribed treatments is essential for reducing risks like drug resistance.

The AFHEG Foundation CEO, Phillip Andrew Mwebaza, addresses participants on the use of games in health education.

Phillip Mwebaza, CEO of AFHEG Foundation, then introduced the Superbugs Clash board game, an interactive tool designed by AFHEG to raise awareness about antimicrobial resistance through gamified learning. He explained how the game educates players on the dangers of improper antibiotic use, encouraging students to share their knowledge with family and friends to foster a health-literate community. He further emphasized the transformative impact that youth-led health education can have in Uganda, where doctor-patient ratios are critically low.

The event included lively musical breaks, during which students performed songs about AMR, adding creativity to the learning experience and enhancing the impact of public health education.

Understanding Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)

AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites evolve and become resistant to the medicines that were once effective in treating infections. This makes common treatments like antibiotics less effective or even useless, leading to longer illnesses, higher medical costs, and increased mortality. Addressing AMR requires public awareness and strict adherence to prescribed treatments, as the AFHEG Foundation and King Ceasor University are demonstrating through education and innovative community initiatives.

Through initiatives like the AMR Club and the Superbugs Clash game, both organizations are paving the way for a healthier, informed future, underscoring the importance of collaborative efforts in health education and the need for comprehensive approaches to tackle antimicrobial resistance effectively.

Mpox Outbreak in Uganda: Reducing Stigma Through Effective Communication and Community Engagement

Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, has re-emerged in Uganda and neighbouring countries, raising concerns about public health responses and the stigma that often accompanies such outbreaks. Understanding mpox and addressing the stigma surrounding it is key to fostering effective community engagement and ensuring timely intervention to control its spread.

Understanding Mpox

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines mpox as a zoonotic disease caused by the monkeypox virus. It primarily spreads from animals to humans but can also spread from person to person through close physical contact, respiratory droplets, or contaminated objects. In humans, the disease presents symptoms similar to smallpox, though less severe.

Key signs and symptoms include:

  • Fever
  • Swollen lymph nodes
  • Rash that evolves into pustules and scabs
  • Headaches
  • Muscle aches and fatigue

Currently, Uganda is grappling with an mpox outbreak that was first confirmed in July 2024, with 11 cases reported across several districts, including Kasese, Amuru, and Mayuge​(WHO | Regional Office for Africa). Surveillance systems are in place to monitor and curb further spread, but stigma remains a significant obstacle in health communication.

The Role of Stigma

Stigmatization of individuals with mpox, particularly in Uganda and other African countries, arises from misconceptions about the disease’s transmission and association with marginalized communities. The public’s unfamiliarity with mpox compounds the stigma, as many still confuse it with diseases like HIV/AIDS or smallpox.

This stigma discourages people from seeking medical attention early, leading to delayed diagnoses, continued transmission, and heightened public fear. In some communities, individuals may face isolation, ridicule, or even discrimination due to the visible rash, making it harder to reach out for help.

Effective Communication Strategies

To reduce stigma and improve mpox-related outcomes, it’s crucial to focus on the following:

  1. Clear, Consistent Messaging: Health authorities must provide information about mpox, focusing on transmission modes, prevention, and treatment. Messaging should emphasize that anyone can contract mpox, and it is not limited to any particular community.
  2. Community-Led Engagement: Involving local leaders, health workers, and community-based organizations ensures that messages are culturally relevant and reach marginalized populations. These groups can act as trusted sources of information and help dispel myths that fuel stigma.
  3. Media Campaigns: Leveraging radio, television, social media, and print media can amplify awareness and encourage those with symptoms to seek early treatment. These campaigns should normalize mpox as a treatable disease and promote compassion toward those affected.
  4. Training Healthcare Workers: Health professionals need training on how to manage mpox patients sensitively and address stigma concerns. Proper communication from medical personnel can encourage patients to follow preventive measures and receive treatment without fear of judgment.

Ugandans to benefit from Pfizer’s expanded access to medicines and vaccines

Pfizer, a leading global pharmaceutical company, has announced that it has significantly expanded its commitment to offer the full portfolio of medicines and vaccines to lower-income countries through its An Accord for a Healthier World initiative.

Uganda is proud to be among the five initial launch countries where Pfizer is working closely with the government and local health experts to identify how the Accord can most effectively support national health goals and impact patient lives in our country.

This transformative initiative is focused on greatly reducing health inequities that exist between many lower-income countries like Uganda and the rest of the world. Since its launch in May 2022, Pfizer has committed to providing access to all its patented medicines and vaccines available in the U.S. or European Union on a not-for-profit basis.

This means that Ugandans will have access to a broader and more immediate scope of consistent, high-quality products that can help improve the health and well-being of our citizens.

Pfizer has listened and understood the specific health needs of Uganda to identify how the Accord can most effectively support our national health goals.

In collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Pfizer has provided professional healthcare education and training to support the delivery of the medicines and vaccines, and in November, Pfizer deployed its first Global Health Team to Uganda to help identify opportunities for long-term supply chain optimization.

This expansion of Pfizer’s product offering, combined with continued efforts to help address the barriers that limit or prevent access, will help us achieve and even expedite our vision of a world where all Ugandans have access to the medicines and vaccines they need to live longer and healthier lives.

Uganda’s Ebola-free: A Triumph of Preparedness and Early Response

Uganda has been declared Ebola-free by the World Health Organization (WHO) after the latest outbreak of the virus claimed almost 60 lives in about five months. The outbreak of the deadly virus was declared over after 42 days without a new case being reported, which is double the incubation period for the virus according to WHO protocols. The highly contagious disease spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids, and causes fatigue, fever and bleeding from the eyes and nose. It kills almost half of those who become infected.

This outbreak, which involved the Ebola Sudan strain of the virus, began in September and killed 56 people, including seven healthcare workers, and caused 142 confirmed infections. The virus spread through parts of the country, with officials hesitant to impose another ban on movement within the country in the wake of recent coronavirus lockdowns. Only in December were a curfew and restrictions on movement introduced in the affected districts. By then, the United States and other countries had issued orders to screen all travelers from Uganda arriving at their airports.

The acting director of Africa’s Centers for Disease Control, Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, has praised the Ugandan government for its “excellent” coordination of Ebola containment measures, saying it had taken approximately 70 days to bring the outbreak under control. African health authorities had prioritized preparedness for the deadly virus after devastating outbreaks of the Ebola Zaire strain in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone between 2013 and 2016 killed more than 11,300 people. Those outbreaks inspired global fear that air travel could allow the virus to spread across the world in a matter of hours. That fear helped galvanize research and funding for vaccines to protect against the Zaire strain of the virus.

Three candidate vaccines in development for the Ebola Zaire strain were sent to Uganda, with the first arriving on December 8, to be evaluated in a clinical trial being run by the Makerere University Lung Institute, as there is currently no vaccine proven to be effective against the Sudan strain of the virus. Critics have said an opportunity was missed as the candidate vaccines only arrived as the virus was waning. The delays meant a chance to trial the drugs amid an evolving outbreak was missed. However, the limited trial did prove the vaccines safe to use on humans. In December, doctors discharged the last known Ebola patient in Uganda from hospital, allowing President Yoweri Museveni to lift all Ebola-related restrictions and curfews for the holiday season.

“Today we join the Government of Uganda to declare the end of the Sudan Ebola Virus Outbreak in the Country,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO’s Regional Director for Africa. The WHO’s Moeti further added, “With no vaccines and therapeutics, this was one of the most challenging Ebola outbreaks in the past five years, but Uganda stayed the course and continuously fine-tuned its response. Two months ago, it looked as if Ebola would cast a dark shadow over the country well into 2023, as the outbreak reached major cities such as Kampala and Jinja, but this win starts off the year on a note of great hope for Africa.”

The end of the Ebola outbreak in Uganda is certainly a cause for celebration and relief, but it also serves as a reminder of the importance of preparedness and early response in the face of deadly epidemics. The Ebola virus is a highly contagious and deadly disease, and it is essential that countries and international organizations take the necessary steps to prevent and contain outbreaks as quickly as possible. The WHO’s announcement of Uganda being Ebola-free is an encouraging sign for the continent of Africa and the rest of the world, showing that with proper coordination and response, it is possible to overcome even the most challenging of outbreaks.

 

1400 healthcare workers to get Ebola preparation and response training from WHO and Kenya

The World Health Organization (WHO) and Kenya’s Ministry of Health will train roughly 1,400 healthcare professionals on how to be ready for an Ebola epidemic.

In a news statement, the ministry stated that as Uganda works to control the present epidemic, the Ebola response actions are a part of continuous efforts to protect against a potential importation of the deadly Ebola virus illness into the nation.

“The training, that kicked off this week, has seen 75 health workers drawn from the national level and Nairobi County receive essential information and techniques required to deal with the disease,” said the Ministry of Health.

The agency said that the training was connected in series to the county and sub-county levels in the 20 counties most vulnerable to the importation of EVD and that the health professionals had received training on readiness and reaction.

The training session comes in response to a notice issued by the Kenyan ministry to all counties nationwide and worries expressed by Ugandan health officials over an increase in confirmed Ebola cases to 109 with 30 fatalities.

“Ebola virus disease is a severe and often fatal illness in humans caused by the Ebola virus. The virus is normally found in animals but spread from animals to human beings and occurs when there is interaction between the infected animals and healthy humans,” the statement said.

Furthermore, a recent notice sent by the Ugandan government to Kenya is in accordance with East African Community Health standards on an epidemic of the illness discovered in Ngabano hamlet of Madudu Sub County in Central Uganda.

The Ministry of Health further warned that human-to-human transmission of Ebola happens through direct or indirect contact with bodily fluids including as blood, sweat, urine, sperm, vaginal secretions, diarrhea, and vomitus from an infected individual.

As a result, the Kenyan government has advised all county governments to be watchful and increase monitoring, particularly around borders.

“Screen at risk populations including travellers, truck drivers, bush meat handlers and healthcare workers as well as sensitize the community to identify suspected cases,” the ministry urged county administrations.

Additionally, county governments have been advised to mobilize fast-reaction teams to assist with case identification and prompt reporting.

They were also asked to engage key stakeholders to start preventative, readiness, and response efforts, as well as to educate healthcare personnel on infection, prevention and control measures, case management, and sample management.

Uganda receives US$1.5 million from Japan, UNICEF to improve its health information systems

Uganda receives US$1.5 million (approximately UGX5,710,860,000) in financing from the Japanese government, which will be distributed via the United Nations Children’s Agency (UNICEF) to help upgrade its national health information system with the use of cutting-edge digital health technology.

The funds will be used by the Ugandan Ministry of Health to establish a digitized health information microplanning system to solve issues in the delivery of vaccination services and to attain Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

A portion of the funds provided by UNICEF will also be utilized to implement a new health information system, which will assist in providing necessary vaccinations to children who are vaccinated insufficiently or not at all, as well as those who are targeted for COVID-19 vaccination.

1.3 million under-5 children in the trial districts of Kamuli, Kampala, Kamwenge, Lamwo, Mukono, Ntungamo, and Wakiso will benefit immensely from this innovation, as will 350 health care professionals and 60 Ministry of Health and Regional Referral Hospital officials.

UNICEF reports that a recent “zero-dose” assessment carried out in four metropolitan areas indicated that there is still a sizable percentage of children in Uganda that are either not vaccinated at all or are just partially immunized.

The funding will be applied to take advantage of cutting-edge digital technologies to enhance the provision of healthcare in the nation, including helping medical professionals organize their COVID-19 vaccine inventory and prepare for vaccination supply.

The initiative will be carried out in collaboration between UNICEF, the Ugandan Ministry of Health, the Uganda National Expanded Programme on Immunization, the Health Information Management Division, and the Community Health Department.

“Once the digital monitoring system is implemented, the Ministry of Health and partners will be able to increase the quality of services and coverage to reach the unimmunized and under-immunized wherever they are,” the United Nations agency stated.

Dr. Munir Safieldin, the UNICEF representative in Uganda, underlined the need for timely data collection to increase vaccination coverage, particularly through more precise estimations of the number and location of the target group at the grassroots level.

By the end of 2024, the project’s objectives must be accomplished. On a national basis, the effort will also help 10 million children under the age of five and 21 million vaccinated children between the ages of 12 and 18 who will get the COVID-19 vaccine.

 

Rise in Ebola infections and fatalities in Uganda

According to data from the Ministry of Health, the number of confirmed Ebola cases in Uganda has increased to 16, while the death toll from the disease has risen to four.

Apart from the four confirmed deaths, 17 other fatalities are likely Ebola cases, according to Ministry of Health Spokesperson Emmanuel Ainebyoona. Uganda, has 16 confirmed cases of the Ebola virus, with an additional 18 cases being considered likely instances of infection, he continued.

Currently, the epidemic has reached three districts in central Uganda. Mubende has already banned large public gatherings and placed limitations on non-essential travel.

According to Ainebyoona, “Cases recorded beyond Mubende include three in Kyegegwa and one in Kassanda but all connected to the index case in Mubende.” He also noted that “there are no verified cases in  Kampala.”

The Uganda Virus Research Institute is analyzing samples from suspected cases, according to health authorities.

The ministry urged locals to follow preventative measures and report any suspected instances to authorities or nearby medical facilities.

New Measles-Rubella Dose for Children Is Introduced by the Health Ministry

As part of the routine immunization schedule, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has added a second dose of the measles-rubella vaccine for children older than one and a half years.

Dr Alfred Driwale, the manager of Uganda’s National Expanded Immunization Program (UNEPI), reassured the public that the global goal is to eradicate measles, and Uganda has chosen to start administering the vaccine in two doses since the current one only gives 85% protection.

A measles-rubella vaccination is administered to a kid at nine months of age, according to the current national schedule. The newly introduced second dosage, which will begin in March, will be given to infants aged one and a half years.

According to the Ministry of Health, all children between the ages of one and four will need to receive a second dose of the measles-rubella vaccine by October 2022; at that point, all children will need to have had doses of the vaccine in order to be deemed completely immunized.

While at the launch conference, countries discussed experiences on the introduction of vaccinations after the first year of life of children but also what Uganda may learn from abroad, which also included other immunization specialists from elsewhere in Africa.

According to Dr Simon Antara, Executive Director of the African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET), Ghana has been an excellent example of a country that is performing well after one year of heavy coverage of recently launched vaccinations.

He stated that societies must be prepared to absorb new vaccinations when they become available, as immunization programs will evolve in response to the illness load that countries now experience.

Uganda, on the other hand, has plans to provide several new vaccinations for infants above the age of one year, including those against meningitis and yellow fever, initially in endemic regions. Dr Driwale notes that thus far, for children over a year old, they only have HPV for ten-year-old females and Tetanus for teenage girls.

As the COVID-19 pandemic reached its peak, the World Health Organization has been reporting that countries experienced significant disruptions in the uptake of routine vaccines. However, according to Dr Driwale, these disruptions only occurred early on in Uganda’s experience, and the nation quickly developed stability in its healthcare system that allowed it to connect with people with routine services.

 

About Us

AFHEG Foundation is a non-profit health organization in Uganda, that focuses on empowering young people and communities with accurate health and environmental information through creative storytelling, e-learning, and interactive gaming, enabling them to improve their quality of life while making informed decisions.

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