By Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka | Founder and Chief Executive Officer
The last report was posted on March 6th 2020.
To date we have raised $2,100 from 16 donors since the start of the project. Two of the donors are monthly recurring donors.
Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH) set out a COVID-19 preparedness plan to train all Gorilla Guardians on how to manage and prevent COVID-19 spread amongst people and from humans to gorillas.
On 24th March 2019, we started out with training park staff including wardens, head rangers and head trackers at all the tourism trekking sites of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. This training was done in partnership with Uganda Wildlife Authority, Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project, Bwindi Community Hospital, International Gorilla Conservation Programme, Max Planck Institute and the Uganda Ministry of Health. The training was requested by the Uganda Wildlife Authority and included sharing guidelines on the following measures to prevent spread of COVID-19:
1. Every person visiting the gorillas, including park staff, tourists and researchers must have their temperature tested using non-contact infrared thermometers before setting off for gorilla trekking
2. Mandatory wearing of face masks by every person visiting the gorillas including park staff, tourists and researchers while viewing gorillas
3. Park staff, tourists and researchers with signs of illness, flu or cough should not be allowed to go to the forest.
4. Mandatory hand washing using soap, water and disinfectant before trekking.
5. The rule of viewing gorillas at a minimum distance of 7 meters at all times was re- emphasized.
Although tourism was suspended in Uganda’s protected areas the day after the trainings took place, and this was followed by travel restrictions and social distancing guidelines, the trainings and agreed protocols will be very important when Uganda does open up again to tourism, ensuring all those concerned are ready and prepared to handle primate tourism safely in order to prevent COVID-19 transmission between people and from people to the endangered mountain gorillas. In addition, the guidelines continue to apply to rangers and others who have to access the forest to check on the health and safety of the gorillas and other wildlife in the forest.
CTPH conducted another series of COVID-19 prevention and mitigation trainings between 24th April and 26th May 2020, in partnership with Arcus Foundation and Solidaridad. At that time, travel for non-essential vehicles was prohibited. However, CTPH, considered essential due to its work in One Health interventions and in the prevention of zoonotic disease transmission, was given a sticker from the Ministry of Health to continue operating, in line with guidelines set out by the Government of Uganda. CTPH was granted permission from Kanungu District Local Government to train Village Health and Conservation Teams (VHCTs) who are community volunteers providing health and conservation information and services at the community and household level and Gorilla Guardians who are Human and Gorilla Conflict Resolution Teams who safely herd gorillas back to the park when they range on community land. The trainings were conducted whilst observing social distancing of two meters between people. When sensitizing the VHCTs, we engaged with 10 individuals per day (5 in the morning and 5 in the afternoon), finding them in their villages to ensure all COVID-19 prevention protocols were observed. All the 256 VHCTs and 119 HUGOs were trained.
At the end of the training sessions, all Gorilla Guardians and Village Health and Conservation Teams were provided with personal protective equipment, including face masks, hand sanitizers, cloth masks and soap. Gorilla Guardians were also given posters with information on how to stop the COVID-19 spread amongst people and from humans to gorillas, for onward dissemination in the communities.
Conservation Through Public Health donated 4 Infrared thermometers to Uganda Wildlife Authority to help park staff record their temperatures before the visiting the gorillas.
These activities would not have been possible without the generous support of those who donated through GlobalGiving.
In May 2020, we received the good news of the birth of two baby Gorillas in Nshongi and Muyambi gorilla families in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda.
Sadly, however, at the beginning of June 2020, we lost Rafiki, the lead silverback of Nkuringo gorilla group. He was killed by a poacher, who claims that he killed the gorilla in self-defence after he was attacked while setting snares for duiker and bush pigs. Rafiki’s death was the result of increased poverty resulting from COVID-19 which has led to a surge in unemployment around the protect areas, after the cessation of tourism. Following Rafiki’s death, CTPH adjusted the focus of our GlobalGiving project to incorporate issues specific to the COVID-19 crises and the new challenges it has brought about, including providing nutritional support to community members on the outskirts of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park to reduce the need to enter the forest illegally to meet basic needs.
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By Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka | Founder and CEO, CTPH
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