Sustaining the Community through the Covid-19 Pandemic
Updates on the CEP-Uganda COVID-19 Response Project
As the coronavirus pandemic arrived in East Africa in March, several of our local partners focused on new programs to strengthen community resilience.
In April, Child Empowerment Programme Uganda (CEP) established a COVID-19 task force and began working with local leaders and police in Kamuli District to implement a three-part health and sanitation program. Executive Director Robert Kalulu shared the following update on their recent work.
Production and Distribution of Face Masks
CEP hired 4 graduates of their tailoring program to make face masks and participate in distribution around the region. This is an essential need as the government has mandated masks for all traveling in public places. The program has locally produced and distributed nearly 3500 masks with a focus on getting them to healthcare workers and market vendors.
Community Awareness and Education
The second prong of the program is a community education campaign focused on sharing facts about COVID-19, communicating government directives, and countering falsehoods endanger public health in local villages. Using a new public address system, CEP staff have been able to reach over 20,000 people through visits to 68 trading centers and over 182 other awareness events. They have also communicated this information through local radio programs.
Hand Washing Stations
Frequent hand washing is not common for people in this part of Uganda, but local community members welcomed the new practice as a way of reducing chances of spreading the virus. CEP provided hand washing stations to 44 trading centers in the region. Each station has a caretaker who is responsible for making sure the station is stocked at all times and for encouraging community members to practice good hygiene.
Positive Health Outlook But Other Worries
The rapid and adaptive response of CEP and similar organizations has helped to produce hopeful news on the health front. As of July 9, Uganda has only seen 977 confirmed cases and 0 confirmed deaths. Most cases have been among freight truck drivers and those working and living in transportation hubs.
The country remains largely in lockdown with schools, places of worship and bars closed, and various activities and gatherings not permitted. The extended lockdown has had serious socioeconomic impacts and created concerns for women and girls especially.
Since the lockdown began on March 18, over 400,000 people have lost their jobs while many businesses have collapsed and those working in the informal economy similarly are without work. Food prices are on the rise and there are serious concerns about access to food in many communities. The Ugandan government has enacted a variety of measures to help citizens cope with the current situation—food aid, distribution of face masks, loans to businesses, and self-study materials for students. Unfortunately, many of these programs been slow to implement and are reaching fewer people than hoped.
For women and girls, the lockdown has led to additional worries with escalating rates of teenage pregnancy and domestic violence reported in the Kamuli region and elsewhere. CEP is currently looking at ways that they can raise awareness on reproductive health and increase access to birth control measures as well as address the issue of increased cases of domestic violence.