This past year has exposed health disparities around the world. Uganda is no exception.
At the beginning of the year, Covid-19 levels were low, but Uganda and other African countries were expected to see exponential contagious spread. The first cases of Covid-19 in Uganda were sent to one of Global Emergency Care’s partner hospitals in Masaka, Uganda, putting our Emergency Care Practitioners (ECPs) on the front lines as the pandemic spread across sub-Saharan Africa. Our ECPs, stationed in rural hospitals in the Rukungiri, Masaka, and Mbarara Districts, are the communities’ best hope for triaging Covid-19 symptoms and providing research-based public health education to a population already plagued with misinformation and fear.
Kansiime Glorious, like many of our ECPs, has taken on extra responsibility in orienting the hospital staff about the proper use of PPE, hand hygiene, and triaging COVID-19 patients. In her words, “The country’s economy has suffered as many businesses, schools, and others that involve gatherings are still under lockdown.” The economic crises in Uganda due to Covid-19 led to high transport fees and resource shortage. As Covid-19 surged in Uganda, our ECPs were recognized by the Ugandan Ministry of Health as the first front-line workers to begin the treatment and management of Covid-19. Over 200 Covid-19 patients were treated by ECPs at the Masaka hospital and the Tanzania border crossing.