Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze, the Makerere University Dean of Public Health has professionally given her advice towards stopping the further spread of Coronavirus among Ugandans. Wanyenze, who has trained most of the country’s Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) professionals in the country believes that no one can for sure tell if someone is infected with Coronavirus by mere looking at them.
According to Wanyenze, Uganda can defeat Coronavirus if the country equips itself well enough at the same time comply with the guidance from Ministry of Health (MOH). She advises that it is best to assume that no one is safe if the fight against this deadly virus is to be won.
“In the countries with steep epidemic curves about half of the cases in the first 1-2 weeks are due to community spread. That’s why we must be very vigilant to avoid getting exposed and infected. The majority of infected people either don’t get symptoms or manifest mild symptoms! So it’s not possible to know casually, who is infected or not. Best to assume no one is safe and aggressively protect ourselves and those around us!” reads part of her submission circulated by Makerere University online.
Just like the advice given by MOH and President Museveni, Wanyenze also emphasizes social distancing, frequent wash of hands as well as modifying the measures taken by six countries that have managed to slow the spread.
“What is our part in this? We need to follow the guidance provided by MOH and World Health Organisation (WHO) to ensure we avoid getting infected or transmitting the infection if we are exposed or infected! Compliance has been a major success factor in countries that have flattened the curve! In Uganda we have our own example of HIV, where strong community mobilization and response made a difference. We also need to deal with stigma and make it easy for contacts to step out and test! We can build on these experiences to defeat COVID.” Her submission reads further.
Dr. Wanyenze has a long and varied clinical and public health experience in tropical diseases research, with emphasis on tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. She has worked at the Makerere University School of Public Health, since 2008. She has managed the postgraduate fellowship program at the School of Public Health, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Global Fund, among others. She has also carried out original research in the areas of maternal and child health.
Read her full professional advice towards defeating Coronavirus below;
COVID is a serious challenge no doubt, complex and rapid transmission and a lot of unknowns with rapidly evolving evidence! Nonetheless, we will overcome it, and we have the power to do so if we equip ourselves with the facts, comply with the guidance from Ministry of Health (MOH) and work together to fix the issues.
The buildup of cases since the first few cases is indeed disturbing but not surprising given the trends elsewhere in the world. Uganda did a good job keeping COVID out for a while. However, once the first few cases filter through, depending on their mobility and mixing patterns at population level, and interventions in place the build up starts even in strong surveillance and health care systems!
In the countries with steep epidemic curves about half of the cases in the first 1-2 weeks are due to community spread. That’s why we must be very vigilant to avoid getting exposed and infected. The majority of infected people either don’t get symptoms or manifest mild symptoms! So it’s not possible to know casually, who is infected or not. Best to assume no one is safe and aggressively protect ourselves and those around us!
Early initiation of social distancing, hygiene, tracking of the initial imported cases and their contacts, testing and quarantine helps to minimize the community spread and rapid build up of cases (flattening the curve). This helps to avoid overwhelming the healthcare system and reduces mortality. Reversing the curve after a huge number of infections is a lot more complex as we have seen in countries with large numbers, crashes the health care system and gives rise to huge mortality!
As we know it, only six countries have succeeded in flattening or reversing the curve and these have provided some lessons for us while those that didn’t do too well also provide lessons on what we should avoid! But we need to modify these lessons to our context so fast and build the boat as we sail!
MOH, our partners and the scientists have done their best and we should succeed in flattening our curve if we all do our part.
What is our part in this? We need to follow the guidance provided by MOH and World Health Organisation (WHO) to ensure we avoid getting infected or transmitting the infection if we are exposed or infected! Compliance has been a major success factor in countries that have flattened the curve! In Uganda we have our own example of HIV, where strong community mobilization and response made a difference. We also need to deal with stigma and make it easy for contacts to step out and test! We can build on these experiences to defeat COVID.
But we must all act very fast given the rapid spead. With COVID, every hour and day matters and we can quickly lose the battle if we don’t act quickly!
Anyone of us is at risk and we need to fight this bug jointly, we need to overcome whatever differences, whether political, or other and work across disciplines to identify comprehensive home grown context appropriate solutions! Everyone has a role here, the behavioral scientists, communicators, psychologists, lawyers, ICT gurus, economists, engineers, Veterinarians, etc and certainly our communities!
In summary, yes we can and have the power to defeat COVID! And, we have no option actually, so let’s get going if anyone here has not done so yet!
Professor Rhoda Wanyenze
Dean, Makerere University School of Public Health.
