Opinion: How prepared is Uganda to receive the COVID-19 vaccine?
As 2020 unwinds, quarantine, lockdown, social distancing, pandemic etc. have inevitably been part of our vocabulary all year long. Uganda’s struggle continues as its Covid19 stats are very sobering, with a steep upward curve portraying an average of 500 new cases daily. Ignored SOPs put in place by the World Health Organization (WHO) is the new normal.
If it is not the political campaigns, the scenes via downtown Kampala, it is people in purportedly closed bars or house parties. It is the pandemic fatigue that is swaying through the population.
However, the light at the end of this dark tunnel is that over 250 vaccine candidates are being pursued globally, a critical tool in ending the pandemic. Vaccines like Pfizer-BioNTech and mRNA-1273 are already being administered in the United States of America, while Europe is set to start administration on 27th December. But what does this mean for Africa, especially for a Sub-Saharan country like Uganda whose health and economic ecosystems have been crippled by the pandemic?
Awareness
During a virtual press conference held on 26th November, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO’s Regional Director for Africa said, “Developing a safe and effective vaccine is just the first step in a successful rollout. If communities are not on board and convinced that the vaccine will protect their health, we will make little headway. It’s critical that countries reach out to communities and hear their concerns and give them a voice in the process.”
Therefore, Uganda’s Health ministry must turn its attention to the next big challenge of vaccine awareness and adoption by the population.
It will be tasked to provide as much information as possible about the efficacy of these vaccines because many people within the population still think that the virus is a hoax. And for those who don’t, questions like; is the vaccine effective and safe, who will get vaccinated first, where and when can we get vaccinated, and what will be the cost of the vaccines will have to be answered.
On 3rd December, the Ministry of Health’s Permanent Secretary Dr Diana Atwine posted on Twitter, "I am glad to tell you that there are several vaccines on the global scene. We are applying for vaccines and we are phasing it in such a way where we begin with health workers, vulnerable groups then scale up.” with a hashtag series of #AskDrDiana. This and more will be required to sensitize the masses about the vaccine when the time comes.
Accessibility
In April, the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) was launched by GAVI; a global vaccine alliance to ensure equal distribution of the Covid19 vaccines between higher-and lower-income countries.
However, Uganda’s lack of proactive preparedness and planning because of the huge funding gap and a prevailing recession has made the vaccine just a dream for the 43millon vulnerable Ugandans. Even if the funding of over $5 billion has been secured from the African Export-Import Bank to purchase the vaccines by African countries, the logistics involved to access the drug would be highly challenging simply because of the low number of health workers per capita.
The current doctor to population ratio in Uganda is 1:12,000 something that is overweighing the health system especially now during a pandemic. To mitigate these challenges, the government has to set up resilient task forces, with the right structures, processes and people that are trained and educated to ensure safe and effective administration of the vaccines
Also, the nature of most of these vaccines that are currently being administered is very fragile with storage temperature requirements of as low as -70⁰C, colder than Antarctica. With an ultra-cold chain infrastructure system that is so inadequate with an unreliable electricity supply, the utility of this drug might not be fully realized in Africa considering its geographical landscape and the uneven rural-urban distribution of its population.
Collaboration is needed among African countries to mitigate such challenges; the Ethiopian Pharma Wing, part of the Ethiopian Airlines has partnered with the WHO to be at the forefront in the distribution of the Covid19 vaccines across the African continent with dedicated cool dollies and pharma teams.
