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Uganda

Uganda: Cholera DREF Bulletin No. MDRUG003 Final Report

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The International Federation's Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) is a source of un-earmarked money created by the Federation in 1985 to ensure that immediate financial support is available for Red Cross Red Crescent response to emergencies. The DREF is a vital part of the International Federation's disaster response system and increases the ability of national societies to respond to disasters.

Summary: CHF 150,000 was allocated from the Federation's Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) on 12 December, 2006 to support the national society in delivering assistance to some 300,000 beneficiaries.

600 Uganda Red Cross Society volunteers were equipped with knowledge about cholera transmission and prevention and deployed to the field to reach out to at least 300,000 people in the five divisions within Kampala City Council affected by the epidemic. The teams also facilitated active community-based case identification and referral of cholera cases to the health units for treatment and also undertook assessments to determine longterm solutions.

The situation

In December, 2006 Uganda's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported 305 cases of Cholera registered in a span of 3 weeks and 10 deaths confirmed in Kampala city. Starting with some 212 cases on 1 December, some additional 93 cases were reported in the next 3 days. This equaled a daily infection rate of 23 to 24 cases with a case-specific mortality rate of 3 percent. A cholera treatment centre established in Mulago Referral Hospital reported a caseload of 10 to 15 cholera patients per day, an indicator that if the epidemic was not addressed promptly, it could result in the doubling of caseload in less than two weeks. The Cholera treatment centre also reported that most patients suffered from acute diarrhea resulting from consumption of contaminated food and water. The most affected communities were those in low lying areas that areovercrowded.

A case fatality rate of one percent with an attack rate of 7 percent was reported marked by 11 deaths since the beginning of the outbreak. A total of 1,099 cases were recorded with 30 percent from Kawempe Division of Kampala city as shown in the table below. The proportion of males to females diagnosed was 95 to 100 and about 22 percent of the cases were from children under the age of five.

Table 1: Distribution of Cholera Cases in Kampala

Kampala city divisions
Number of cases
Kawempe
333
Makindye
249
Rubaga
212
Central
128
Nakawa
68
Others (especially Wakiso)
108
Total
1,099

According to MOH reports, the epidemic started to spread frominternally displaced persons' (IDP) camps in Kitgum and Pader Districts as well as the south western parts of Uganda and increased over the next 2 months spreading to other districts. The first case was recorded on 31 October 2006 where a woman from Mengo-Kisenyi in central Division was admitted at Mulago Referral Hospital. The outbreak was contained after 4 months by 10 March, 2007 followed by closure of the Cholera treatment centre. According to the health authorities in Kampala, the cholera outbreak was the sixth to occur in Kampala City in a space of 10 years since 1997 giving an average of one cholera epidemic after every two years beside other disasters that affect Uganda.

How we work

All International Federation assistance seeks to adhere to the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's) in Disaster Relief and is committed to the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response (Sphere) in delivering assistance to the most vulnerable.

The International Federation's activities are aligned with its Global Agenda, which sets out four broad goals to meet the Federation's mission to "improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity".

Global Agenda Goals:

- Reduce the numbers of deaths, injuries and impact from disasters.

- Reduce the number of deaths, illnesses and impact from diseases and public health emergencies.

- Increase local community, civil society and Red Cross Red Crescent capacity to address the most urgent situations of vulnerability.

- Reduce intolerance, discrimination and social exclusion and promote respect for diversity and human dignity.

Contact information

For further information specifically related to this operation please contact:

In Uganda: Alice Anukur, Secretary General, Uganda Red Cross Society, Kampala; email: aanukur@redcrossug.org; telephone + 256.41.25.87.01

In Kenya: Dr. Asha Mohammed, Federation Head of Eastern Africa Zone, Nairobi; email: asha.mohammed@ifrc.org; telephone + 254.20.283.51.24; fax + 254.20.271.27.77 or Knut Kaspersen, Federation Deputy Head of Zone and Head of East African sub-Zone, Nairobi; telephone + 254.20.283.51.17

In Kenya: Philimon Majwa; Disaster Management Manager, Nairobi; email: philimon.majwa@ifrc.org; telephone: +254 20 2835 208; Fax: + 254.20.271.27.77

In Geneva: Niels Scott, Federation Operations Coordinator (Africa); email: niels.scott@ifrc.org; telephone + 41.22.730.4527; fax + 41.22.733.0395