The Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Industry and Fisheries has secured a loan of about 19 billion Uganda  shillings from the African Development Bank for the project entilted “creation Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis free areas”

The project will aim at creating sustainable Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis free areas to support the eradication of Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis in Uganda.

Minister Hope Mwesigye

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Industry and Fisheries, Hope Mwesigye has told   journalists at Parliament that the project will eradicate Trypanosomiasis by using eradicating technologies while reclaiming areas formerly infested with Tsetse flies and having them equitably, sustainably and economically developed like other areas that have never been Tsetse fly infested.

The ministry of health recently issued a warning that tse tse fly related diseases are on the increase in Uganda, affecting both humans and livestock.

Mweisgye has also appealed to communities to go for blood screening whenever they detect any Malaria like sickness and patients of sleeping sickness should follow up treatment after every three months for a year.

Treatment of sleeping sickness is free in the various sleeping sickness centers that stretch to over 20 in number around the country.

Some of these centers include Bugiri Hospital,  Musafu Health Centre in Busia, Nalirri in Tororo, Serere Health Center IV in Soroti, Lwala Hospital in Kaberamaido, Dokolo Health Center, Aleptong Health Center in Lira, Apac Hospital, Kayunga Health Center IV in Iganga, Bulopa Health Center III in Kamuli, Buwenge Health Center IV in Jinja, Kangulumira Health Centre IV in Kayunga, Buyikwe Hospital in Mukono, Kalangala Health Center IV, Omugo Health Centre IV in Arua, Yumbe, Moroto and Adjumani Hospital.

Trypanosomiasis is a disease transmitted by Tsetse flies and it is called Nagana in animals whereas in humans it is referred to as Sleeping Sickness.

By Zacharia Tiberindwa, Ultimate Media