TDDA Uganda’s recent highlights, focusing on equity and sustainability
TDDA’s work to strengthen health security in Uganda forges ahead. With sustainability at front of mind, we have been strongly focused on stakeholder collaborations to ensure that the progress TDDA has achieved can continue beyond the end of our programme (Nov 2022). Gender, Equity and Social Inclusion is also a strong theme as it is vitally important that the health needs of the marginalized and most vulnerable groups in Uganda are met.
April-June 2022 highlights include:
Health security at Uganda’s borders: With Monkeypox and Ebola looming as threats from neighbouring countries, TDDA provided funds and technical assistance to the MOH to conduct supervision and training at five border entry points. As well as focusing on enhanced screening for these diseases, the training (June 2022) also emphasized protocols for safe handling of vulnerable groups, such as pregnant women, disabled people and refugees. Strengthening community-based surveillance to support faster responses to outbreaks: Our latest targeted surveillance capacity-building not only supports greater geographical equity but is also timely in light of recent disease outbreaks in Uganda, which include Anthrax, tuberculosis, typhoid fever and malaria. This quarter, TDDA provided technical and financial support to the Ministry of Health (MOH), assisting them to train 45 health workers and District Health Team Members across three districts of Central region (metro Kampala, Mukono and Wakiso) that were previously poorly performing in terms of community-based surveillance. The training creates local multi-disciplinary rapid response teams with the skills and knowledge to identify, report and respond to public health emergencies. Monitoring health security progress: TDDA Uganda funded and facilitated the country’s first ever monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of National Action Plan for Health Security implementation at subnational level, which took place in June 2022. The exercise focused on eight selected districts in West Nile region (Nebbi, Pakwach, Zombo, Madi-Okollo, Arua, Maracha, Koboko and Yumbe) and used the M&E tool TDDA had previously developed. This work establishes a roadmap for an inclusive, evidence-based monitoring process, which will help strengthen subnational capacity to deal with public health threats, and align existing and future financing. Fostering greater collaboration on health security is a key TDDA objective. We achieved a breakthrough when we facilitated the first joint Coordination Meeting of International Health Regulations (IHR) and Animal Health (OIE, now WOAH) focal point personnel in June 2022. This was the first meeting since TDDA supported the government to develop Standard Operating Procedures and Terms of Reference for IHR last July. The attendees agreed on future coordination measures and a schedule of quarterly meetings going forward. TDDA gave a presentation, setting out the case for a Gender and Social Inclusion focus within health security.