Iganga, Uganda: Community leaders and residents in Bulamagi Sub County, Iganga District, have resolved to operationalise the Bulamagi Investment Forum (BIF) to mobilise local resources in support of the Busoga Malaria Eradication Program (BMEP), with technical guidance from the Busoga Health Forum.
The initiative targets grassroots mobilisation to complement government-backed malaria control efforts, focusing on four core pillars: community engagement, mass mosquito spraying (both indoor and outdoor), mass testing and treatment, and continuous monitoring, evaluation and surveillance. The programme is coordinated at sub-county level, with zones serving as the primary implementation units.
Addressing a gathering that included LC I, LC II and LC III leaders, youth, women representatives and members of the Malaria Eradication Brigade, former Vice President and Busoga Health Forum adviser Specioza Wandera Kazibwe urged communities to embrace collective platforms as a practical response to persistent public health challenges.
“Government of Uganda, in partnership with Busoga Health Forum, is providing support in chemicals, overalls, pumps and gloves, but there is need to raise funds to facilitate the people who will do the spraying,” Dr Kazibwe said, stressing that local leadership will be central to the programme’s sustainability.
More than 200 members of the Malaria Eradication Brigade from various zones in Bulamagi Sub County were trained at Bishop Willis Core PTC in CMS on mapping, community mobilisation, spraying techniques, testing and treatment. Local leaders were separately trained on sustaining the programme through the investment forum model.
The Assistant District Health Officer for Iganga District in charge of environmental health, Karim Mwebaza Muluya, who also serves as Research and Innovations Coordinator, said the programme’s overarching goal is to eliminate malaria in Busoga and Uganda at large by 2028.
“The BMEP seeks to eradicate malaria in Busoga by 2028 through the four pillars of community mobilisation, mass spraying, mass testing and treatment, and routine surveillance,” Dr Muluya said, adding that the programme is now scaling up to neighbouring sub-counties, including Nawaningi, using locally available resources.
He said the approach builds on lessons from the Nawaningi pilot, where community ownership and mobilisation of youth and local leaders proved effective. “The purpose of the forum is to source funds in addition to support from the Ministry of Health. We must also leverage existing institutions, especially the Busoga Health Forum,” he said.
Technical guidance was also provided by Fredrick George Kabbale, the Buyende District Health Officer, who advised participants to begin household-level mapping to generate data that will inform resource needs and operational planning for Bulamagi Sub County.
The meeting resolved to commence structured community mapping and formally launch the Bulamagi Investment Forum register, where individuals and institutions willing to contribute resources will enrol to support identified development and health priorities under the malaria eradication drive.
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