P. Sarojini
      Uganda (CWBN)_ In an attempt to support the Ugandan government to fight against the corona virus pandemic, the United States has donated Covid-19 test kits and reagents and personal protective equipment like mask, gloves, face shields, etc, worth $1.87 million (approximately Shs6.8b) through its Department of Defense.
      The Deputy Chief of Mission of the US Embassy, Mr Christopher Krafft, said yesterday while donating the supplies of the first batch at the Ministry of Health offices in Kampala that the US government is ready to work in collaboration with Ugandan partners to resolve the pandemic.
      Mr Krafft highlighted the US Mission’s support to the Uganda government. He said, “The US Mission in Uganda contributes more than $500 million (Shs1.8 trillion) to Uganda’s health sector every year and we are pleased to be able to provide this additional assistance from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the American people to help in the fight against Covid-19″.
      The donated supply of $1.87 million includes testing kits to test around 50,000 samples of Covid-19, N95 masks, gloves, surgical gowns, and face shields. Within the next two months, the extra supplies of this donation will be delivered.
      Mr. Krafft said that these donations would be used to organize Health Ministry mobile laboratories to help out the Ugandans who live far away and have no access to health facilities with testing capabilities for Covid-19. The mobile laboratories will be operated by both the Ministry of Health and the Uganda Virus Research Institute, which is a long-standing affiliate of US government agencies such as the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and USAid.
      The donation supplies were delivered at the right time when increased Covid-19 cases were reported across the nation, the time when the country ran out of health facilities and testing kits.
