By Editorial
U.S. Ambassador to Uganda, Natalie E. Brown, has completed a four-day working visit to the Rwenzori region where she monitored and assessed the impact of U.S. assistance programs designed to promote global health security, strengthen Ugandan health systems, and improve health outcomes for the Ugandan people.
Ambassador Brown visited the Uganda – DRC border crossing in Mpondwe, where she observed how U.S. support for training on health-related screening of travelers, provision of PPE, and Infection Prevention and Control is helping to keep populations on both sides of the border healthy and prevent disease spread.
During her visit, the US Ambassador also inaugurated a state-of-the-art, $6.3 million dollar laboratory at Mweya, Queen Elizabeth National Park.
This Bio-Safety Level 2 Laboratory, funded by the United States through the Defense Threat Reduction Agency with oversight from U.S. Africa Command, gives the Uganda Wildlife Authority the capability to detect, surveil, and report emerging and re-emerging animal diseases caused by pathogens of concern, in accordance with World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines to limit zoonotic outbreaks.
The ambassador was joined by the minister for Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities Minister Tom Butime to unveil the state of the art laboratory.
In Fort Portal, Ambassador Brown visited the Regional Referral Hospital, which houses the Fort Portal Regional Emergency Operations Center. With support from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the operation center has developed coordination mechanisms for preparedness and response to infectious diseases, including COVID-19, in conjunction with its local partner, Baylor-Uganda.
Ambassador Brown also heard first-hand how U.S. support has helped communities prevent, detect, and treat HIV and improve maternal, newborn, and child health in the Rwenzori region.
The U.S.-funded 2012-2017 Saving Mothers Giving Life project, continues to demonstrate improved maternal and neonatal outcomes, supporting the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
The unit admits about 130 premature and sick newborns monthly and provides regional neonatal care training for health workers.
She also met with local alumni of the Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI) .
