Revise the Public Health Amendment Bill, 2021

Last week, the Minister of Health, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, came up with a Bill that will make it compulsory for all Ugandans to get vaccinated against Covid-19 or else, be fined Shs4m, or be jailed for 6 months, or both, if they refuse to comply. According to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr Diana Atwine, this Public Health (Amendment) Bill 2021, has since been tabled before Parliament.

In the same week, Dr Atwine launched a door-to-door Covid-19 vaccination campaign to rally all Ugandans to get vaccinated. In her speech during the launch, Dr Atwine rubbished what she referred to as “talk” that the vaccine can make men impotent.

With the delicateness of the subject of male virility, Ugandans are not looking for a mere podium announcement that the vaccine does not cause impotence. Why does the whole Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health dispute reports from a vaccine hesitant public without any plan/promise to investigate these reports?

Of course we had misguided PR stunts where the vaccinated stood a few metres away from vaccination points and proudly announced that the vaccine is ‘safe and effective’. But how so, when you vaccinated a few minutes ago? This is such poor PR because it does not offer those that might be worried the confidence that years down the road, all will still be well.

The way forward in the face of such ‘misinformation’, therefore, would be to open up communication channels where those with such claims are asked to come forward for their complaints to be heard and investigated. This is very different from what we currently have in reality. What we have now in the form of vaccination mobilization is mostly militaristic approaches where local area leaders together with armed forces move around the communities menacingly intimidating Ugandans into vaccination.

The Public Health Amendment Bill has equally been enacted in the same militaristic punishment-oriented spirit. There is no room for discussion. Ugandans must do as the minister says or else face the law. The spirit of this legislation assumes that Ugandans are ignorant and do not care enough to preserve their poverty-stricken lives. But if you ask most Ugandans about their feelings regarding government’s concern in relation to their livelihood, they will tell you otherwise. The concern displayed when it comes to Covid-19 vaccination is not reflected in other spheres of the economy. For example, we have 17 women dying daily from child-birth related complications but we do not have door-to-door campaigns to address this. The same amount of effort is also not injected in enabling excellent service delivery in health facilities. Ugandans also know that Covid-19 funds have never been properly accounted for. The welfare of migrant workers abroad is not prioritized yet they bring in so much revenue.

Enacting the Public Health Amendment Bill 2021, is wrong on all fronts because said Ugandans haven’t been given any fair hearing to voice their reasons behind the hesitancy. On the contrary, other countries have vaccine adverse events reporting systems (VAERS) where those injured by vaccination can report. This data is computed and used to inform future decisions. This system is non-existent in Uganda and if it exists, Ugandans haven’t been adequately informed to utilize it. If this information was available then the Permanent Secretary would speak with evidence.

More to that, vaccine hesitancy isn’t Uganda’s problem alone. It is a global problem. Currently, truck drivers in Canada have blocked some major border points to peacefully demonstrate similar vaccination mandates. And just like in Uganda, Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister is not willing to listen to their concerns in order to work out a solution that is a win-win for all concerned. In the US, the Supreme Court had to throw out proposed legislation by President Joe Biden, mandating business owners to enforce vaccination of all their staff. It is appalling that with vaccination, world leaders refuse to listen and objectively address the concerns of those who elected them, in preference for stringent legislations to beat the apparent stubborn into submission.

The only hope for Ugandans at this point is for our MPs to reject the Bill when it is presented in Parliament. MPs should demand that research be done to investigate the reasons behind the hesitancy and for these reasons to be addressed sensitively. Discussion and sensitization should be favoured instead of mandates that give no room for feedback about the public’s concerns.

Ms Agnes K. Namaganda is a human rights activist. [email protected]