Miseducation of Yoweri: An insincere backslap by the President

“’I became a soldier not to acquire a profession, but because of the bad situation that existed in my country. I saw no reason why anyone should terrorize me with a gun, so I learned to use the gun and used it to immobilize the terrorist. Neither would I describe myself as a politician. I believe every Ugandan should be involved in politics in order not to be manipulated by clever people who call themselves politicians. I entered the sphere of political leadership in order to help eliminate manipulation from politics in my country” – President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni (from a biography published by Uganda Investment Authority during 1994).

Here we go again. Another day, another backfiring quote from the fountain of honour. From the commander-in-chief and His Excellency President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. It is like his forgotten himself and his own political career. Even in the midst of the bushwar, as journalists and such was following his trail in Luweero. Even then he spoke of economically liberating the peasants. Something, that sticks to me. Because this is his legacy, that he was supposed to deliver together with the 10 point programme.

Still in his bright mind, he speaks like this:  

“A serious person does not mix politics with the livelihood of the people, all leaders irrespective of their political inclination should go back to the people and awaken them to kick poverty out of their homes” – President Museveni on the 1st August in Kasese District (Daily Monitor – ‘Do not politicise poverty, Museveni tells Opposition groups’ 02.08.2019).

As we see, without further delay, he himself have not awaken people, he has had 33 years and counting to do so. The President has spoken viciously about this since the early 1980s and still not configured the details. Therefore, he doesn’t want others to intervene, because he lack control and leadership to figure it out himself.

That is why its ironic, that he said this 21 years earlier:

“What needs to be done is to educate these people, have them understand how to develop their economies in their own humble way. The people need to be politically educated to understand abuse by their governments” President Museveni at the Addis Forum on the 8th March 1998.

So, he has kept his same message, the Freedom Fighter, that was supposed to lecture and educate the public out of poverty. The man who was supposed to change, a fundamental change if you may, the correct line, the one vision out of financial distress. Still, this man has not been able or tried to do so.

Since, were in 2019 and he blames others for not doing it well. He blames the other leaders, not himself. Who has been at the helm and had all the opportunities in the world to make a difference and actually change things. Still, he hasn’t, because that hasn’t been his main concern. That he has pushed to the donors, the NGOs and whoever who could cover his basics. Not that he needed to look into it. If he did, then it would be a scheme where he get rich and his patronage too.

Therefore, he should start to educate himself, finds way out of the maze and not put blame on others; as his own record of accomplishment isn’t that brilliant. Peace.

One year into the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, city of Goma faces risk of spread (01.08.2019)

The city of Goma has seen its second confirmed death as the result of infection which could lead to the first active transmission of the disease inside the regional capital.

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo, August 1, 2019 – One year on since the Ebola outbreak was first declared in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo the disease continues to spread with 2,690 cases and 1,803 deaths, a 67% case fatality rate. The city of Goma has seen its second confirmed death as the result of infection which could lead to the first active transmission of the disease inside the regional capital of an estimated two million inhabitants.

Andre Heller, Ebola Response Director at the International Rescue Committee, said, “The second confirmed case of Ebola in Goma is very alarming. This outbreak is far from under control. The IRC has been engaging in infection prevention and control in major health centers in Goma, scaling up in the city in an effort to stem the spread of the virus here as we do in other hotspots surrounding Beni and Butembo.”

The IRC has been responding to the Ebola outbreak in North Kivu since its declaration in August last year working in more than 70 health facilities throughout Beni, Mabalako, Butembo and Goma and leading on infection prevention and control (IPC). The IRC is also working in women’s and children’s protection, and integrating Ebola-related protection concerns in areas where the IRC supports primary health care services.

The IRC has been working in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 1996 responding to the humanitarian crisis in the east. It has since evolved into one of the largest providers of humanitarian assistance and post-conflict development, with life-saving programming in health, economic recovery, women’s and children’s protection, and livelihoods.

WHO marks one year since the beginning of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (31.07.2019)

As of 29 July 2019, the Ministry of Health of the DRC has reported 2687 cases (2593 confirmed and 94 probable) with 1803 deaths and over 770 survivors.

BRAZZAVILLE, Congo (Republic of the), July 31, 2019 – This week marks one year since the start of the 10th Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Following the declaration of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 17 July, the World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the government of the DRC, other United Nations (UN) agencies, partners and communities, is working on further scaling up response and preparedness measures.

As of 29 July 2019, the Ministry of Health of the DRC has reported 2687 cases (2593 confirmed and 94 probable) with 1803 deaths and over 770 survivors.

Since the first Ebola cases were confirmed in Mangina, in the North Kivu province of eastern DRC, on 1st August 2018, 175 000 people in the DRC and over 10 000 in neighbouring countries have been vaccinated against the Ebola virus. Fourteen treatment and transit centres have been set up and more than 140 000 contacts have been identified and monitored. Furthermore, 77 million people have been screened for Ebola at hundreds of screening points set up at official and unofficial crossing points along the DRC’s borders. In addition, tens of thousands of alerts have been received and investigated.

These responses have been achieved despite the difficult conditions in which WHO and partners are operating. Since the beginning of the outbreak, WHO’s response has continually evolved to adapt to the situation as it unfolds on the ground. Preparedness and vigilance are still key as WHO and partners redouble efforts as the outbreak enters its second year.

“I am immensely proud of the commitment and courage of everyone working in the field and what we have achieved together,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, “We have learnt a lot of lessons during the past year. We learn from our own experience, and from discussions with our partners. We also engage communities, listen to what they have to say and adapt our approaches. This is the only way we will end this outbreak.”

Violence and insecurity have plagued this region of the DRC for two decades. A weak health system and humanitarian crisis, including internal displacement, as well as security issues have complicated the Ebola response. Safely accessing those in need and gaining acceptance by communities, some of whom are distrustful of outsiders after years of conflict, have been the major challenges in this response.

WHO continues to lead the public health response to the Ebola outbreak and is calling for a more united approach where under the leadership of the DRC government, the UN and other partners take greater responsibility for areas of the response in which they have expertise. WHO is also providing technical leadership in the areas of surveillance, vaccination and case management. WHO has mobilised and deployed more than 700 international experts -71% of whom are from the African region – as part of the surge capacity needed to respond to the outbreak.

UNICEF must triple budget to combat Ebola outbreak in DR Congo; complex crisis impacting unprecedented number of children (31.07.2019)

The UNICEF expert said there were 2,671 confirmed cases of Ebola as of 28 July including more than 700 children.

NEW YORK, United States of America, July 31, 2019 -With an unprecedented number of children affected by the Ebola virus outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Tuesday said it would need to triple its budget to tackle the complex crisis, which included intensifying the overall public health response and launching measles vaccinations.

“This Ebola response is far more complex because it is in an active conflict zone,” Jerome Pfaffmann, a UNICEF health specialist, told reporters in Geneva, just back from his third visit to the country.

He underscored that “people in the (eastern Congolese) provinces of North Kivu and Ituri are facing humanitarian and public health crises,” and in addition, half the health facilities in Ituri had been damaged or destroyed over the last two years.

The UNICEF expert said there were 2,671 confirmed cases of Ebola as of 28 July, including more than 700 children, more than half of whom – some 57 per cent – were under five years of age.

“When I left, there were 12 new confirmed cases, five were alive and will have the chance to access treatment, but seven had died in the community. This is bad. Having this number of community deaths means we are not ahead of the epidemic,” he said.

“It is unprecedented to have such a [high] proportion of affected children,” Mr. Pfaffmann continued, adding that both provinces were also facing a measles outbreak.

So far, UNICEF has vaccinated more than 40,000 children against measles, but a massive scale-up was needed to protect them from various health risks.

With all this in mind, UNICEF planned to carry out a new strategic response plan to address acute humanitarian and social needs.

“UNICEF will need to triple its budget to respond to this crisis,” said Mr. Pfaffmann, stressing that “we need desperately the international community to back us up.” 

This budget would include about $70 million for epidemic control activities, $30 million to build community capacities in at-risk areas, and another $70 million to deliver essential services.

Meanwhile, the UN agency was continuing operations with “colleagues and communities on the ground who are fighting the outbreak tirelessly.” 

Just two days away from the one-year milestone of the Ebola virus disease outbreak in the DRC, the UNICEF expert said it was critical to make the investment to keep the epidemic under control.

“This is a wake-up call. There must not be a second-year milestone,” Mr. Pfaffmann declared, stressing that community mobilization was critical to curbing the spread of the disease because “they are capable of best doing the things that matter.” 

Ethiopia, Somaliland and Puntland jointly plan for the synchronized HoA cross-border polio response (26.07.2019)

The overall objectives of this meeting were to review the 1st round implementation of synchronized cross-border activities between Somaliland, Puntland and Ethiopia.

GENEVA, Switzerland, July 26, 2019 – The second synchronized Horn of Africa cross-border polio coordination and micro planning meeting which was organized for district level health officials of Ethiopia and Somaliland and Puntland held from 16-18, July 2019 in Jigjiga city of Somali region in Ethiopia. The first synchronized cross border micro planning meeting was held in Hargeisa Somaliland from 12 to 13 June 2019 with great success where the lower level staffs were fully involved and engaged in the process of cross-border micro plan.This second synchronized cross-border meeting was attended by Ministry of Health National, Regional, zonal and woreda level officers, CORE Group, CDC, Rotary, WHO and UNICEF. The overall objectives of this meeting were to review the 1st round implementation of synchronized cross-border activities between Somaliland, Puntland and Ethiopia; to identify the gaps and challenges and discuss and develop the way forward to address the challenges; to review the preparedness activities of the cross border for the upcoming extended campaign of monovalent oral polio vaccine type2 (mOPV2) and to further update the cross border micro plans for both side of the borders to ensure all children would be reached.

The Somali Regional Health Bureau (RHB) Head, Dr. Yusuf Mohammed Ali in his welcoming remark said that “The RHB looks forward to continue working closely with the multitude of partners in Ethiopia and abroad, to make sure that every child is vaccinated to protect our children from Polio and other Vaccine Preventable Diseases (VPD).”

Dr Anand Saumya from UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) in his remark also underlined the importance of this joint planning meeting and the synchronized campaign for a better outcome.

Mr. Christopher Alexander Kamugisha, the Coordinator for the global polio eradication initiative (GPEI) Horn of Africa Office on his behalf congratulated the Ethiopia and Somali Region teams for the successful completion of the first round mOPV2 vaccination and urged to use this planning meeting as an opportunity to share lessons learned and discuss how best to get prepared for the upcoming next rounds.

On the first day of this meeting that intended to review the first round mOPV2 implementation, the Somali Regional heath bureau presented the first round mOPV2 campaign implementation activities, challenges and way forwards in Jarar and Dollo zones which was officially launched on both zones on 24 and 25 June respectively and followed by the Somaliland and Puntland teams’ response presentation.

The next two days will focus on reviewing and updating the synchronized micro plans for the cross border areas for the next campaign. Some of the outcomes expected from this meeting includes updating synchronized micro plan at border crossing points, to reach common understanding and agreement on the dates for the cross-border polio outbreak response, strengthening the cross border community based surveillance for AFP and other diseases surveillance and strengthen the mechanism for timely sharing of AFP surveillance data and other disease events.

Joint press release between Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization on the situation of Ebola virus disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic Of Congo (19.07.2019)

Somaliland, Education Cannot Wait and UNICEF launch multi-year programme to provide education to more than 54,000 children affected by crises (13.07.2019)

RDC: Ministere de la Sante – Note Circulaire (10.07.2019)

Somalia: Response plan for impact of poor Gu rains in place to avoid a major crisis (12.07.2019)

The delayed start and poor performance of the 2019 Gu’ (April-June) rains resulted in severe drought conditions across Somalia through early May.

MOGADISHU, Somalia, July 12, 2019 – Two years after the prolonged 2016/2017 drought destroyed livelihoods and displaced almost one million Somalis – but also triggered a massive and successful scale up in humanitarian response to avert famine – severe climatic conditions, combined with other persistent drivers of humanitarian crisis, armed conflict, protracted and continued displacement and a spike in evictions of internally displaced persons are again pushing Somalia towards a major humanitarian emergency.

The delayed start and poor performance of the 2019 Gu’ (April-June) rains resulted in severe drought conditions across Somalia through early May, pushing millions of people into acute food insecurity, with dire consequences for marginalized and displaced communities. In response, the Federal Government of Somalia and the aid community are together implementing a Drought Impact Response Plan which will provide critical life-saving assistance to 4.5 million Somalis between now and the end of the year at a cost of $686 million.

“The food insecurity situation is now extremely concerning with potentially disastrous consequences for the 2.2 million people facing crisis levels of food insecurity.  The seasonal harvest is projected to be 50 per cent below average and even lower in some areas, while malnutrition, drought-related diseases and displacement as well as protection risks are exacerbating existing vulnerability,” said George Conway, the acting Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia. “I applaud the Federal Government of Somalia for demonstrating leadership and prioritizing scale up of response to the impact of the erratic and underperforming rains. I call on donors to fully resource the Plan and avoid a major crisis.”

The recurrent climatic shocks are a clear sign that Somalia is persistently vulnerable to the effects of climate change. “While it is critical to respond to today’s urgent life-saving needs, it is equally important that we build community resilience, invest in long-term development and strengthen the capacity of Somalia to withstand future shocks. Not every drought needs to lead to catastrophe,” said Mr. Hamza Said Hamza, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management. “We remain committed to move ahead with durable solutions under the Resilience and Recovery Framework and count on our international partners for support.”

The negative impact of erratic and abnormally performing Gu’ rains followed a poor 2018 Deyr season (Oct-Dec), and unusually dry conditions during the 2019 Jilaal season (Jan-Mar), impacting communities that are still recovering from the severe drought of 2016/17. With the exception of the 2018 Gu’, every rainy season since late 2015 has been below average, leading to increased vulnerability and decreased coping ability. Amidst this concerning situation, the humanitarian operation in Somalia remains underfunded with the 2019 Humanitarian Response Plan having received only 38 per cent of its requirements by mid-year, forcing aid agencies to limit or reduce relief efforts at a time when scale up is critical.

Contributions thus far received from the Governments of the United States, Germany, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Sweden, Qatar, Denmark and Switzerland amongst others are deeply appreciated, but all donors are encouraged to increase contributions to address the impacts of the current humanitarian situation.

The updated Drought Impact Response Plan is available here

Ebola virus disease – Democratic Republic of the Congo (12.07.2019)

After the first reported case in the Ariwara Health Zone on 30 June, no new cases have been observed in that health zone.

GENEVA, Switzerland, July 12, 2019 – The outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in North Kivu and Ituri provinces, Democratic Republic of the Congo continues this past week with a similar transmission intensity to the previous week. While the number of new cases continues to ease in former hotspots, such as Butembo, Katwa and Mandima health zones, there has been an increase in cases in Beni, and a high incidence of cases continues in parts of Mabalako Health Zone. In addition to these re-emerging hotspots, there are a large number of people with confirmed and probable infections moving to other health zones, with the greatest number coming from Beni Health Zone. The movement of cases causes the outbreak to spread to new health zones and re-emerge in health zones with previously controlled infections. Overall, this underscores the importance of robust mechanisms for listing and following up contacts and understanding the motivations for peoples’ decisions to move.

After the first reported case in the Ariwara Health Zone on 30 June, no new cases have been observed in that health zone. A response team deployed to that zone continues to identify contacts, engage the community, and vaccinate individuals at risk. Response personnel from the bordering countries of Uganda and South Sudan continue to support operational readiness activities. Resources are being dedicated to monitoring the Uganda-Democratic Republic of the Congo border in that area.

In the 21 days from 19 June through 9 July 2019, 72 health areas within 22 health zones reported new cases, representing 11% of the 664 health areas within North Kivu and Ituri provinces (Figure 2). During this period, a total of 247 confirmed cases were reported, the majority of which were from the health zones of Beni (41%, n=101), Mabalako (19%, n=48), Lubero (6%, n=16), and Mandima (5%, n=13). As of 09 July 2019, a total of 2437 EVD cases, including 2343 confirmed and 94 probable cases, were reported (Table 1). A total of 1646 deaths were reported (overall case fatality ratio 68%), including 1552 deaths among confirmed cases. Of the 2437 confirmed and probable cases with known age and sex, 57% (1384) were female, and 29% (704) were children aged less than 18 years.

Cases continue to increase among health workers, with the cumulative number infected rising to 132 (5% of total cases). Of the 128 health workers with information available, the greatest proportion is among health workers at health posts [poste de santé] (20%, n = 26) and private health facilities (35%, n = 45). The majority (68%, n = 87) of health worker infections were among nurses.

No new EVD cases or deaths have been reported in the Republic of Uganda since the previous EVD Disease Outbreak News publication on 13 June 2019. As of 3 July, 108 contacts exposed to those cases were identified, and they all completed the 21-day follow-up period. All contacts were asymptomatic. Arua district, located in the north-western part of Uganda near the Uganda-Democratic Republic of the Congo border, is currently stepping up its response readiness to prevent imported cases of Ebola following the case that died on 30 June 2019 in Ariwara Health Zone in neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo, located 8 kilometres from the Uganda border. This case is known to have over 200 contacts, some of whom are in the communities bordering the Arua district. As of 9 July 2019, two suspected cases in the Arua district were reported and both tested negative. As of 9 July 2019, the cumulative number of individuals vaccinated in Arua district is 811 out of 1092 targeted front line and healthcare workers.