Epicentre of Ebola crisis in dire straits
The Mubende Ebola District Taskforce has decried the inadequate resources following the confirmation of an Ebola outbreak in the district.
Ms Rosemary Byabashaija, the Mubende Resident District Commissioner (RDC), who doubles as the head of Mubende Ebola Taskforce, said they are currently facing a challenge of inadequate resources to run emergency business associated with the Sudan Ebola strain.
“We are now struggling with fuel to go and pick the patients from the communities, fuel for transporting the bodies for safe burial and security supposed to accompany these vehicles because sometimes they are threatened by the community,” she said.
No money yet
Ms Byabashaija said the Ministry of Health has not yet released the money for carrying out the operations, forcing them to use “money from our pockets.”
District officials have indicated that they need about Shs1.5b to mount a fight against the disease.
“We had made two budgets for the hospital and the district, but we were advised by the officials from the Health ministry to come up with one budget,” she told Saturday Monitor, adding that while the hospital currently provides fuel for the Ebola safe burial team, its resources are constrained.
Dr Paul Batiibwe, the director of Mubende Regional Referral Hospital, told this newspaper on Friday that they “do not have enough space in the isolation centre.”
He added that while they are “planning to put up tents … getting beds to put in the tents is still a challenge.”
Dr Batiibwe further revealed that they only received Ebola kits from the World Health Organisation. These, he stressed, “are not enough to accommodate all frontline health workers.”
