Ministries tasked on nodding disease response
By Ritah Kemigisa.
The Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda has directed the Ministries of Health and Gender to work together to come up with a joint government program of intervention to address the socio-economic and psychological issues communities affected by the nodding disease syndrome.
Yesterday’s information from the prime minister’s office indicated that government had after an extra ordinary meeting convened on Tuesday earmarked shs 1.4 billion as emergency funds for boosting the nodding disease syndrome response .
Now according to the premier’s communication advisor Julius Mucunguzi, the ministry of health has further been instructed to ascertain the exact number of nodding syndrome patients and also categorize them according to severity of cases.
Meanwhile he says Gulu regional referral hospital has been recommended to be the focal point and rehabilitation center for handling complicated cases of nodding syndrome.
Part of the response is to see all the 3000 patients provided with medicines (anticonvulsants) and food for four months and non-food items including blankets, bed sheets and mattresses.
