KAMPALA — Uganda will roll out two new vaccines including Hepatitis B birth dose and Malaria vaccine, Health Minister Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng has announced.
Dr. Aceng was speaking at a half day Public Lecture at Makerere University where Dr. Seth Berkeley, the Chief Executive at GAVI provided a keynote address on the “Power of Science and Vaccines”.
“We will be introducing two vaccines. One is the Hepatitis B birth dose, and the other is the malaria vaccine,” Aceng said.
She added: “What I know is that we shall have adequate doses of the Hepatitis B birth dose, but the malaria vaccine is short in supply. So GAVI is looking towards countries including Uganda that have a very high burden of malaria”.
Whereas Uganda’s biggest burden of Malaria remains in Northern parts of the country, Dr. Aceng said that currently the eastern region is experiencing a unique burden and that children are dying rapidly.
“They have what we call Blackwater Fever, which is affecting the children. Once they get malaria and they start on any of those medicines, they end up urinating what we call coca-cola colored urine, which is actually blood because they are haemorrhaging,” she said.
“We are looking at targeting that particular area and getting the children vaccinated so that we can reduce the burden of malaria which has been a challenge”.
Both Malaria and Hepatitis B are endemic in Uganda.
The WHO recommends that all infants should receive their first dose of vaccine as soon as possible after birth, followed by 2 or 3 doses However, according to Uganda’s immunization policy, vaccination against Hepatitis B is given as part of the pentavalent vaccine, at 6, 10, and 14 weeks.
Hepatitis B infection occurs mainly during infancy and early childhood, with MTCT accounting for approximately half of the transmission routes of chronic HBV infections.
In his opening address at the World Hepatitis Summit in June 2022, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called hepatitis “one of the most devastating diseases on earth”.
But he added that it is also one of the most preventable and treatable, with services that can be delivered easily and cheaply at primary healthcare level.
Tedros described scaling up Hepatitis B birth dose in routine immunisation schedules as “low-hanging fruit”, that could be a game-changer.
“The reasons people miss out on services for hepatitis are the same as the reasons they miss out on other health services — accessibility and affordability, because of who they are, where they live, or how much they earn.”
Dr. Seth, who received Makerere University’s prestigious Honorary Doctorate of Science said GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance has put aside US $160million to help countries in Africa access the world’s first malaria vaccine.
He said the new GAVI funding opportunity brings Uganda closer to reaching millions more children.
He said the new co financing mechanism would help African countries to put money aside for the prevention of diseases as this is key for their development.
“If countries don’t make a priority to spend money on prevention, they are not doing the right thing,” he said.
Dr. Seth told reporters that 70% of health care outcomes come through primary health care and that this should be the priority of all countries.
He praised Uganda for fully paying up its pledge for this financial year.
“From the President, down to every minister I’ve met there’s been a commitment to vaccines and we just need to make sure that it follows with the money and and the help that’s needed.”
Dr. Seth also described as a total disgrace that “we don’t have a vaccine fully ready for Ebola Sudan. We had the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and we worked hard to make sure that there would be an Ebola vaccine.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Seth was taken on a guided tour of Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH) building understand construction.
The School, which currently operates inside Mulago Hospital recently embarked on the construction of an eight-storied facility valued at Shs30 billion next to Makerere University Eastern Gate.
The School Dean, Prof Rhoda Wanyenze who briefed reporters on progress of the facility said the ambitious project seeks to strengthen scientific research, teaching and learning for the swelling student population.
Dr. Rhoda said the next phase which will cover four floors is expected to commence in a month’s time.
She said that the GAVI chief, who has been “our good friend is helping us to to get connections to raise funding for that building as well”.
Prof Wanyenze has hailed the various organizations that pledged support towards the project including the National Social Security Fund (NSSF).
The staff of the School managed to contribute slightly above Shs400m.
The other donors include the Rockefeller Foundation, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Italian government and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
