President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has met and held discussions with Dr. Sania Nishtar, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, together with her team from the Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland at State Lodge, Nakasero.
The meeting brought together other officials from the Government of Uganda, UNICEF, and the World Health organisation (WHO) to outline key issues affecting immunisation of children and formulate a strategy that will have a significant impact on the future health of the people in the region.
As a champion of immunisation, Dr. Nishtar came to Uganda to pay a courtesy call to the President and also join the country in celebrating 50 years of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) and to re-invent the will for access to immunisation.
During the meeting, President Museveni and Dr. Nishtar highlighted Gavi’s critical contributions to global health and development, and the significance of the Ugandan government’s role in the Alliance.
President Museveni noted that in addition to immunisation, he has pushed for safe water, hygiene, and proper waste disposal.
The President appreciated Gavi and the donors for boosting the health sector which has helped the government to prioritise its resources in the development of other key sectors.
“Without the international support, we would have to do it ourselves but that means we have to divert our resources that would have been used in other areas like roads and others. You have liberated our resources to do other things.”
President Museveni also reiterated Uganda’s commitment to supporting Gavi programs by adhering to fulfilling its 20% co-financing obligation on vaccines but urging the line ministries and the local government to carry out massive sensitisation on nutrition, noting that 7% of the annual total deaths are a result of non-communicable diseases.
“Uganda has got a lot of food, but the problem is that the line ministries do not educate our people as to what to eat.”
The President further called on District Health Officers to sensitise people on how to balance their diet at least twice a month.
Expressing her gratitude to be hosted in the country for the first time, Dr. Nishtar appreciated President Museveni’s partnership that has achieved improved outcomes, noting that “You should be proud that your country is one of the few East African Countries that has high life expectancy; you have effectively controlled outbreaks.”
As far as immunisation is concerned, in recognition of the collective efforts to save and improve countless lives from vaccine-preventable diseases, Dr. Nishtar spoke highly of Uganda, having utilised the vaccines and antigens in children that will protect the next generations.
She further emphasised that Uganda is going to be the first country to launch the largest malaria programme in the whole world.
Dr. Nishtar also introduced a new initiative called African Regional Vaccination Accelerator, aimed at defence against health threats through supporting routine immunisation.
The initiative was launched after realising that Africa does not easily access vaccines as it should as it was seen during the Covid-19 pandemic; announcing that Gavi has set aside USD 1.2 billion to enhance Africa’s capacity to access vaccines and safeguard the region against future pandemics.
On MPOX Cases in the country, the CEO of Gavi expressed the need to work together with other stakeholders (Permanent Secretaries and line Ministries) to strengthen a better way of controlling it.
The meeting was also attended by various dignitaries who included; the Minister of Health, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng, the Minister of State for Health (General Duties), Hon. Anifa Kawooya Bangirana, the Permanent Secretary- Ministry of Health, Dr. Diana Atwine, UNICEF- Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, Dr. Etleva Kadilli, UNICEF- Country Representative, Dr. Robin Nandy, Dr. Njuguna Charles Kuria from WHO.