By Sadique Bamwita
ENTEBBE
The government of Uganda through the Ministry of Health in partnership with development partners on May 27, 2025 launched an Epidemic simulation exercise aimed at responding to future outbreaks.
Dr. Allan Muruta, who heads the department of Epidemics and disease control at the Ministry of Health, noted that this simulation exercise is intended to test Uganda’s health systems on how the country can quickly respond to epidemic outbreaks like those that hit the country in the last few years.
While addressing the media in Entebbe, Dr. Allan Muruta, said the simulation exercise provides practical real life experience of an outbreak.
“We usually have pillars of response and the major ones include surveillance and case management among others. Uganda has done well in terms of epidemic response and in our last response we took 69days adding that the country has structures in place for responses and is always well coordinated in terms of response.
Dr. Muruta commended development partners for providing Mobile Intensive care treatment facilities that were previously difficult to access in remote areas.
“Our ultimate goal is to save lives and ensure no community is left behind in case of an outbreak. I therefore, urge you to take the simulation exercise with seriousness, ‘Dr. Muruta appealed to emergency health service providers.
The Regional Director for Africa Centers of Disease control in Eastern Africa, Dr. Lucy Mazyanga, noted that Uganda is among the 8 out of the 14 member states that were selected for this simulation exercise because it is among those countries that have had vulnerability to the epidemic outbreaks such as Mpox, Ebola and Marburg among others.
“Africa Center of Disease control and prevention was created to strengthen capacities of member states to be able to quickly detect, confirm and respond to public health emergencies which keep affecting member states.
She said that the simulation exercise is intended to remind member states in the region the stages that are required in responding to public health emergencies.
‘Uganda was selected because it successfully did well in managing ebola outbreak and currently doing well in managing Mpox. Uganda is a good learning place for member states because of it’s good response mechanism for outbreaks,” she added.
The representative of World Food Program – Africa Centers of Disease control and prevention, Mr. Alvaro Villanueva, said the simulation exercise would enable future response actors to have access to knowledge and infrastructure facilities so that they can respond properly when future outbreaks occur.
” Every dollar invested in preparedness has to save seven dollars in the actual response and that is the reason why we are deeply involved in providing support with other development partners to guarantee future response actors with knowledge and infrastructure facilities so as to be able to deal with the next outbreak when it happens .’
The representative of World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Janet Diaz, stressed that in order to respond quickly to future epidemic outbreaks, there was need to train health providers by conducting a simulation of real life conditions. She called on member states in Eastern Africa including Uganda to improve health care systems for future emergencies.
The Country Director World Food Program (WFP), Marcus Prior, said the simulation exercise would go a long way to find long term solutions to emerging challenges related to epidemic outbreaks, and pledged to work together with development partners to implement strategies in the wake of epidemics. He added that such initiatives are indispensable.
