On 30th January, World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. In the wake of the pandemic, countries embarked on devising strategies to curb the spread of the virus and offering support to their citizens to cushion the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Council wishes to applaud His Excellency the President of the Republic of Uganda for the timely response and stringent measures put in place to ensure safety of all Ugandans and to restrain the spread of COVID-19. We urge all Ugandans to adhere to these guidelines and directives.
IRCU acknowledges and appreciates the food and non-food items being procured by government, as well as the donation by people of good-will towards the COVID-19 response, but most importantly to support the most vulnerable groups among us. While the Council appreciates this support for Kampala and Wakiso Districts, there are many more vulnerable groups such as the elderly, the sick, lactating mothers, refugees and those living from hand to mouth like taxi touts, casual laborers, boda-boda riders among others who cannot fend for themselves during the lock down throughout the country.
We also acknowledge the economic stimuli packages as outlined by the different government agencies like Bank of Uganda to restructure loan repayment periods and NSSF to defer contribution by employers for three months. Up to-date, the Government has not yet come up with a comprehensive strategy to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.
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