NSSF donates Covid-19 testing kits worth shs380m to Health Ministry
The National Social Security Fund has donated shs381 million to help the Health Ministry purchase over 5,000 Coronavirus testing kits, reagents and accessories.
Shs60 million of this, was contributed voluntarily by individual NSSF employees.
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According to NSSF officials, procurement of the kits is being undertaken by the Uganda Virus Research Institute and delivery is expected in the next few days.
NSSF Managing Director Richard Byarugaba said that the fund is responding to a call by the government and health experts that testing for the coronavirus is one of the most important steps in combating the spread.
“Our decision to donate testing kits is informed by the model government is employing in combating the coronavirus, which is an emphasis on testing as many suspected cases as possible, as well as their contacts,”Byarugaba said.
“The World Health Organisation (WHO) has also emphasised the need to escalate testing for the coronavirus as one of the most important steps in combating the spread, given that a significant number of people who test positive are asymptomatic.”
According to WHO, collection and testing of appropriate specimens from patients meeting the suspect case definition for Covid-19 is a priority for clinical management and outbreak control.
The world health body also emphasizes that testing allows health services to quickly identify who has the disease and arrange for them to receive the care needed.
“Effective testing programs allow governments and health authorities to understand how prevalent the disease is and how it is evolving. Tracking positive test results helps authorities make evidence-based decisions to try to slow the spread of the disease,”WHO says.
He noted that in addition to the contribution, the Covid-19 pandemic has presented an opportunity for the country to re-asses why social security needs to be at the forefront of our daily lives.
“Through the fund’s innovations program,we have launched an internal challenge, specifically to answer the question of how to help members and customers proactively prepare for disruptions to their income streams in the event of untimely crises,” Byarugaba said.
