The Ministry of Health has launched the first ever nationwide community health week.

The Minister of Health Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng, represented by the Director General Health Services Dr. Henry Mwebesa launched the Community Health Week 2023 in 4 villages of Kawempe Division; Bokasa, Katanga, Kimwanya and Soweto villages on Monday. This week will be held in various districts and villages across the country with the aim of sensitizing communities on how to avoid preventable diseases.

Speaking to the communities during the launch, Dr. Henry Mwebesa informed that 75% of the disease burden is preventable and this is a strategy of Ministry of Health to prevent people coming to hospitals by meeting them in their communities and sensitizing them on prevention.

“Our commitment as the Ministry of Health is to prevent disease and promote health; in that way, you will reduce the biggest burden of disease, you will even require less medicines to treat our people” Dr. Mwebesa said.

“We have heard that in this area of Kawempe division, there are 500,000 people. This is bigger than the size of 3 districts. It is a very very important area and we really need to focus on this area and see how we support them to improve their health service delivery” Mwebesa added.

Dr. George Upenytho, the Commissioner in charge of Community Health at the Ministry of Health during the launch said that the Health week 2023 will run under the theme; Ministry of Health Outside Hospital.

“Please Health workers move out of Hospitals and meet people in the communities. The problem we have as a country is that people think that with every disease, you must go to the hospital. We are here today to show that health can be administered outside the hospital because most diseases in Uganda are preventable” Dr. Upenytho said.

Kawempe Division was chosen as the location to launch the Community Health Week due to the high prevalence of community spread diseases like Cholera and other hygiene related conditions.

The Deputy Mayor for Kawempe division during the launch said that the biggest problem that they face as the division is waste management. “The division has only 3 trucks that are old and not facilitated with fuel. For us to address the issue of waste management, we need more trucks.” He said.

The community Health week especially the outreach day under the theme; Ministry of Health Outside Hospitals is meant to demonstrate Health Service Delivery to households and families in the communities and during the outreaches the following services are being provided; Health Promotion and Education in Communities, Environmental Health and Sanitation, Sexual reproductive Health Services and rights, Management of Common childhood illness, Immunization services, Nutrition services including Screening for malnutrition using, Integrated essential clinical care, Screening and control of non-Communicable Diseases, Screening and Control of Communicable diseases.

Source: MoH official website.