At the National Task Force (NTF) meeting chaired by His Excellency (H.E) the President of the Republic of Uganda at State House Entebbe on 28th August and 2nd September, 2020, a decision was made to roll out the Community Engagement Strategy (CES) for COVID-19 in Uganda. The NTF endorsed the creation of a CES standing committee within the Technical Inter-Sectoral Committee (TISC) to work out a CES plan for implementation. The Committee is chaired by Professor Omaswa.

National Community Engagement Strategy for COVID-19 Response

African Centre for Global Health and Social Transformation (ACHEST) takes health and safety issues seriously and is committed to protecting the health and safety of its staff and all those affected by its business activities and attending its premises. This policy is intended to help ACHEST achieve this by clarifying who is responsible for health and safety matters and what those responsibilities are.

ACHEST Health and safety policy

The National response to the Covid-19 pandemic through Public Health Ordinances issued in March and April 2020, instituted a socio-economic lockdown of workplaces that ACHEST complied to by shifting of work schedules of staff, to their respective homes in their residences. As COVID-19 lockdowns get lifted, health and safety concerns are of the foremost priority for the ACHEST workspace environment for employees and clients as well as visitors both in transit and during their stay at the premises of ACHEST workspaces.

Guidelines for Resumption of Office Work at ACHEST Premises

The World Health Organisation has published updated guidelines on the use of masks for the control of COVID-19. The new guidelines are based on evolving evidence  and provides updates on who should wear a mask, when it should be worn and what it should be made of. The guidelines are on both non-medical fabric masks, as well as the medical masks.

The WHO, however, warns that it remains critical that people who use masks continue to take a comprehensive approach to protecting their health, including physical distancing and hand hygiene.

Details on this link:

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/when-and-how-to-use-masks


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ENDS

Remarks by WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti
Good afternoon everyone and thank you for joining us.
I’m pleased to be joined by colleagues from the Economic Commission for Africa and the Executive Chairman of Africa Health Business, because we know the COVID-19 pandemic is having significant economic impacts, and particularly in vulnerable communities, we need balanced action to save lives and livelihoods.
The private sector has a vital role to play, from providing care to those affected, to manufacturing the key items required for the response, as well as innovating and developing new tools like vaccines and medicines.
There are now more than 51,000 confirmed cases and 2000 have lost their lives across the African continent.
We are very concerned that almost 1000 African health workers have been infected with COVID-19. We know that most African countries already have catastrophic shortages of health workers and when our frontline workers fall ill or are absent from work, communities do not have access to essential services like immunization, safe deliveries and treatment for chronic and infectious diseases, in addition of course to what impact these shortages will have on our ability responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Due to global shortages of personal protective equipment, our frontline health workers, and other frontline workers, remain at increased risk of infection. We are working with countries and partners to replenish supplies so that health-care workers can safely continue to provide routine services, that I’ve mentioned.