The Republic of Uganda has started replacing thermometers and blood pressure measuring devices that contain mercury with digital thermometers. The officer in-charge of Clinical Services at Uganda’s Ministry of Health, Dr. Jacinto Amandua says the development follows the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) launch of an initiative seeking to phase out all thermometers and blood pressure measuring devices that contain mercury.

The WHO abolished thermometers and blood pressure measuring devices that contain mercury citing their serious dangers to the human body. In a news statement last week, WHO said mercury and its various compounds are of global public health concern and have a range of serious health impacts, including brain and neurological damage, especially among the young generation.

The World Health body says that exposure to mercury causes damage to kidneys and the digestive system. The WHO wants a Mercury-Free world Healthcare by 2020. The digital thermometer was launched in Geneva.

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