Kampala, (UG):- The government of the People’s Republic of China has donated an assortment of doses of anti-malarial drugs to the government of Uganda, worth Shs. 4.26 billion (8 million Chinese yuan).
The Minister for Health, Hon. Jane Ruth Aceng, said the donated anti-malarial drugs will greatly help to respond to the escalating cases of malaria burden in the country, adding that the donation cements the bilateral cooperation between the governments of Uganda and China.
“China has been so instrumental in Uganda’s economy and health sector. It’s evident that through public-private partnerships, the China-Uganda Friendship Hospital in Naguru was constructed. This has greatly impacted health delivery in our country. In 2013, the Chinese government supported the training of sixty high-level officials from the Ministry of Health to attend various trainings in malaria control and elimination, epidemic preparedness, detection and response, public health, nutrition, and neonatal care. All these efforts contribute to strengthening our health sector in the country,” said Dr. Aceng.
Minister Jane Ruth Aceng, who received the assortment of anti-malarial drugs at the National Medical Stores (NMS) new head office in Kajjansi Town Council, revealed that Uganda is at a high risk of malaria cases and that at the continental level it ranks third, while Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo rank second and first, respectively.
The escalating malaria cases in the country are due to climatic conditions. In Africa, Uganda is the third-highest contributor of malaria cases (5.4%) and ranks seventh as the highest contributor of malaria globally, registering 12 million cases and 5000 deaths annually.
The most affected population is children under 5 years old, pregnant women, people with immune deficiency conditions, and rural and hard-to-reach populations. In the last decade, significant gains have been made in reducing the malaria burden, thanks to the government of Uganda and donors’ deliberate investment in the fight against malaria.
Between 2021 and 2023, Uganda experienced worrying malaria cases, with some areas surpassing the epidemic threshold. Surprisingly, in 2022, malaria was at its peak, and over 75 districts were reported to have high cases of malaria.
“In order to improve response efforts, the Ministry of Health leadership applied the incident management system through the public health emergency operations center, which deploys a whole government approach,” Minister Aceng stated.
She asked the Ministry of Finance to make timely allocations of funds to enable national medical stores to distribute anti-malarial drugs to government health centres.
Ms Aceng further highlighted the recently signed Yaoundé Declaration, in which Uganda committed to concerted action to end malaria deaths, saying the donation from the government of China is a firm step towards strengthening a collaborative partnership for resource mobilization towards this commitment.
The Minister for Finance, Hon. Matia Kasaija, revealed that the relationship between the government of Uganda and China is solid and has benefited Uganda a lot in terms of health care and road construction investments. He, however, condemned those who steal drugs from government health facilities, saying they deserve a death sentence.
“When I was a toddler, I almost died of malaria. So I am a survivor of malaria; unfortunately, my sister died of malaria. The Ministry of Health should display statistics regarding malaria cases and deaths so that people don’t take the disease lightly,” said Kasaija.
“We must open up our eyes to medics who steal drugs from government health centres. The perpetrators are killers and should be charged with murder. This is a fundamental issue, and there should be no more stealing of government drugs.”
The Ambassador of China to Uganda, H.E. Zhang Lizhong, said the health sector is one of the areas of cooperation and that in Uganda, the relationship is now four decades old. He added that the donated anti-malarial drugs are in response to rising cases of malaria in Uganda.
“Both Uganda and China have a long history of herbal plantations and herbal medicines. Therefore, the two countries may explore joint research for herbs, develop and market herbal medicines to combat viruses, and achieve win-win cooperation. Both countries will work together to develop the digitization of health infrastructure in Uganda,” H.E. Zhang Lizhong pledged.
“China will support Uganda to establish a platform for connecting data among the hospitals so as to achieve the digitalization of health information in Uganda,” he added.
The Board Chairperson for the National Drug Authority (NDA), Dr. Medard Bitekyerezo, confirmed that the donated drugs are effective and of high efficacy and will help Uganda achieve its agenda of having a malaria parasite-free population. He warned medics in government health centers to avoid mismanaging drugs but rather deliver them to the intended beneficiaries.
“The relationship between Uganda and China remains vibrant, and as the National Drug Authority, we shall ensure no bad drugs enter the country,“ Dr. Bitekyerezo vowed.
The manager in charge of malaria control programs at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Jimmy Opigo, admitted that malaria remains a big problem in Uganda and revealed that a few years ago, China managed to eliminate malaria in their country using the same anti-malarial drugs and that Uganda intends to use the same medicines to eliminate malaria in the country.
On the other hand, the Board Chairperson for National Medical Stores (NMS), Dr. Jotham Musinguzi, said the donated drugs are effective and that China has used them for centuries, while the General Manager at the same institution, Mr Moses Kamabare, pledged to store the drugs safely until they are delivered to government health centers across the country.
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