Attachments
To date, this Emergency Appeal, which seeks CHF 5,000,000, is 63 per cent funded. Further funding contributions are needed to enable Uganda Red Cross, with the support of the IFRC, to continue with EVD activities as outlined in the Operations Strategy. This Update requests an extension of the Appeal by 3 months up to the end of 31 December 2023 to complete all the final community recovery, preparedness and replenishment of stocks used in the response.
In addition, a cholera outbreak has been reported in Kayunga and Namayingo Districts. The latter being adjacent to Districts affected by EVD. This Update also requests to include activities related to the Cholera outbreak.
SITUATION ANALYSIS
Description of the crisis
EVD: Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS) has been supporting the government in responding to Ebola outbreak since its declaration on 20 September 2022. The outbreak reported 143 confirmed cases, 22 probable and 55 deaths (CFR1=39%) in the period between 20th September 2022 and 11th January 2023. URCS continues to support Ebola zero reporting and recovery activities in Mubende, Kassanda, Kyegegwa, Kagadi, Bunyangabu, Wakiso, Jinja, Masaka, and Kampala districts. Though the EVD outbreak was declared over on 11th January 2023, URCS has continued to support the Ministry of Health (MoH) post-recovery plan with a strong focus on strengthening surveillance in communities.
Among the priorities highlighted in the recovery plan include but limited to; strengthening community surveillance (CBS), infection prevention and control (IPC), community engagement as well as follow up and management of survivors among others to strengthen community core capacities for timely detection and response to public health emergencies.
Cholera: A cholera outbreak was declared on 31st of July 2023 in Namayingo and Kayunga Districts. At the time of this update, the cholera outbreak in Kayunga had reported at least 24 cases with 8 deaths while Namayingo had reported 21 cases with zero deaths. The MoH attributed the increase of these cases to low WASH indicators in the affected sub-counties. The outbreak in Kayunga is anecdotally attributed to an index case that had died in Entebbe Grade B hospital and was buried in Kayunga, despite no reports of similar cases in that same area while in Namayingo, the first suspected cholera case was a child of 2 years and nine months at Bugana HC III in Namayingo district, who presented with profuse watery diarrhoea, vomiting, and stomach-ache on July 15, 2023.
WHO Weekly Bulletin (week 34) dated 27 August, also reported the outbreak and continued increase in cases and corresponding deaths (reporting a CFR34 of 12.8%). They report that the flooding coupled with poor water sanitation and hygiene services remain plausible factors for cholera spread in the country.
Kayunga is adjacent to Wakiso and Jinja which had outbreaks of EVD and are now in the process of recovery. Because of the close proximity, URCS has activated its risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) trained volunteers during EVD to undertake community mobilization activities to reduce the risk of spreading to other districts. Secondly, with the onset of the short rains which are forecast to be enhanced considerably due to the El Nino phenomenon, there are possibilities of severe flooding and so the risk of cholera spreading is high.
The MoH sent response teams to contain the spread while mobilising village health teams (VHTs) to conduct houseto-house campaigns on early medical seeking, contact tracing, and prevention measures, including washing hands thoroughly with soap and water, cleaning all soiled items with plenty of water, boiling drinking water, and cooking food well.
Uganda MoH reached out to partners for support including URCS noting that during such outbreaks and building on EVD experiences, the best control measures are early detection of cases and treatment of patients, in addition to the mobilization of the community to implementation of critical prevention and control measures.