Uganda has become a country of perpetual disease outbreaks, each more devastating than the last. The recent confirmation of a cholera outbreak in Panyadoli Refugee Settlement, Kiryandongo, comes just three weeks after the Ministry of Health declared an Ebola outbreak. This follows a monkeypox (Mpox) outbreak that has been ravaging the country since July last year. If that is not enough, Uganda has already battled multiple Ebola outbreaks, a polio resurgence, and the lingering effects of COVID-19. These are not mere coincidences but rather the direct consequences of a government that has abandoned its duty to protect its people.
One cannot ignore the glaring incompetence of the health sector under President Museveni’s regime. Uganda’s public health system is underfunded, understaffed, and overwhelmed. The Ministry of Health spends more time on press conferences than implementing sustainable disease prevention measures. It is a cycle of negligence, where the government reacts only when a crisis spirals out of control. The latest cholera outbreak has already claimed three lives, and history tells us that the numbers will rise before any meaningful action is taken.
The tragic irony is that these outbreaks come at a time when the country is facing devastating financial aid cuts. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has slashed funding for HIV/AIDS programs, affecting over 1.2 million Ugandans. This means that while the government enjoys its tax-funded luxury, millions of people living with HIV/AIDS are left stranded without life-saving medication. The burden of healthcare in Uganda has been shamefully offloaded onto foreign donors, yet the regime has the audacity to steal from those very funds.
Cholera, a disease linked to poor sanitation and lack of clean water, should not be a threat in the 21st century. Yet, Uganda—under a government that boasts about “steady progress”—cannot even guarantee clean drinking water to its citizens. Refugee settlements like Panyadoli are overcrowded, under-resourced, and neglected, yet Museveni’s government continues to accept more refugees for international praise while failing to provide them with the most basic necessities. The same goes for Ebola and other outbreaks; they expose a rotten system where prevention is ignored, and intervention is always too little, too late.
Ugandans must wake up to the reality that this is not just a health crisis—it is a leadership crisis. These outbreaks will not end until the corrupt and incompetent individuals at the helm are removed. The government has turned Uganda into a disease-infested nation where survival depends on luck rather than leadership. How many more must die before the people demand better?
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