KAMPALA – The United States government together with the Universal Parcel Services (UPS) Foundation, the American Red Cross and the Uganda Red Cross Society have jointly launched a disaster and epidemic preparedness programme in Uganda.
The programme set to start in Kampala and Kasese, which has been earmarked as the most vulnerable district is aimed at helping business communities get prepared to be able to prevent and detect possible epidemics in a bid to safeguard their business that have suffered losses.
The project contributes to the country’s commitments to achieve a set of goals under the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) and the International Health Regulation (IHR) framework.
Speaking at the launch of the Business Preparedness Initiative on Wednesday, August 29, the US Ambassador to Uganda Deborah Malac said the initiative (BPI) is complementary to the Community Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness Program, recently launched and funded by USAID.
Uganda Red-Cross Society SSecretary-General, Robert Kwesiga their focus to support the businesses in the one year programme is because small and medium enterprises are the backbone of most economies.
He said the Business Preparedness Initiative will help build the capacity of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Kampala and Kasese to be disaster resilient and withstand disaster impacts in communities in the wake of disasters.
