On 22 September 2022, health authorities in Uganda declared an Ebola outbreak for the first time since 2012 after a patient was declared positive for the Sudan strain (SUDV) in the Mubende District. As of 02 November 2022, the Ugandan health ministry has confirmed 129 cumulative cases and 37 deaths, and the outbreak has spread to other districts, including Bunyangabu, Kagadi, Kampala, Kassanda, Kyegegwa, Wakiso, and Jinja.
The outbreak of the Sudan Ebola strain, for which a vaccine has not yet been fully developed, is of particular concern not only to Uganda, but also to its neighboring countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), South Sudan, and Kenya.
There were reports that two men who moved out of Mubende and Kassanda districts, where a lockdown was instituted by the government to avoid spread of the virus, came to Kirindi and there was some deaths of Ebola in the district of Jinja. This caused threat in our OneMama community since Jinja is very near and also these two men were not known of their status as per the Ebola virus.
Therefore, there is a need to prevent Ebola in our community by sensitizing our people of how to prevent the spread of Ebola and following the SOPs. The following guidelines/SOPs were put in place following the resources which were available. These included using local megaphones, washing of hands, use of sanitisers and masks, posters, brochures and handouts, use of thermometers, etc.
CLINICAt the clinic we were able to buy a thermometers to check on the temperature of however visited the clinic, aprons, liquid soap to put in the hand washing containers, gloves, sanitizers, and the posters were also pinned to the noticeboard and at the gate.
Our nurses and medical staff have been using these items especially using masks, advising all the patients and whoever visits the facility to wash hands and also sanitise before he or she is worked upon.
The nurses also make it a point to check on the temperature of each and every one that comes to the clinic and those who can read and understand were given brochures to read so that they may know how to prevent ebola, signs of ebola and where to report just in case he or she suspects some signs and symptoms.
In the community local megaphones in the different villages were given announcements that have been aired for five days. Informing the community how to avoid the spread of the Ebola virus and follow all the SOPs. OneMama Director and Medical Staff have also been given airtime of 30 minutes on these local megaphones to explain to community how to prevent the spread of Ebola virus in the area. Over ten local megaphones have been visited the villages of Kirindi, Kasega, Budooda, Katikanyonyi, Nakatooke, Bukamba, Gayaza, Namirembe, Nazigo, Nsiima and Kimanya. Other local megaphones were not visited because of limited resources.
Posters and brochures were pinned in almost sixty villages to make the community aware of the deadly disease Ebola. Masks, sanitizers and brochures were also given to community members especially boda-boda cyclists in over ten stages.
As I report now most people in our community are aware of what Ebola is , how it is spread and to prevent. We were able to move in some villages given the limited funds we had but we managed to go to 40 villages and 50 villages were not reached.
However, in Uganda Ebola spread is reducing in most infected districts especially Kampala, Wakiso, Jinja, Bunyangabu, Kagadi, and Kyegegwa. In the districts of Mubende and Kassanda Ebola is still there but the Ministry of Health has ably handled the situation. Still these two districts are on lockdown until no case is identified in the area.
OneMama supplies birthing kits and medical supplies, builds medical clinics, and creates a marketplace for women and their families to sell their crafts or crops. We do our work in places where people live on less than $1 per day. One birthing kit prevents mother-to-child HIV transmission and supports a woman giving birth with medicines and supplies administered by a Traditional Midwife, there to help.
OneMama’s goal is to build 250 clinics around the world that will build and support health and birthing clinics in places that do not have access to health services. We support local Traditional Midwives to deliver culturally appropriate care that is augmented by the best medical tests, treatments, and interventions available.
OneMama developed a unique model for services that can be replicated in the hardest-to-reach communities around the world. Because we honor traditional forms of health care by supporting Traditional Midwives, we gain entry into communities that would not typically trust Western medical techniques.
We are able to bring in medical interventions that work to save mothers and infant’s lives, protecting women through childbirth, reducing pain and the birth injuries, prevent HIV transmission from mother to baby, support malaria testing and treatment, and providing health education and services to the entire family.
Our healthcare services work in conjunction with our economic development programs, which supply families with goods needed to create crafts or crops to sell on our international and local marketplaces — so that eventually clinic members can support their own local, rural clinics. We have created a sustainable model for health care that can be replicated and become sustainable within 5-10 years.
To donate and help keep OneMama clinic in operation to save lives of mamas and babies, please visit OneMama.org.
Siobhan “OneMama” Neilland and the OneMama Team
OneMama.org | info@OneMama.org
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