Authorities at the Entebbe District Referral Hospital have expressed concern over the surge in the number of accidents involving Boda Boda in Uganda.
Health officials revealed Friday that the hospital treats nearly five victims of boda boda accidents every day, especially in the early hours of the morning.
Dr Chris Nsereko, a doctor at the medical facility, told the gathering of more than 300 people that “90% of road accidents in Entebbe are caused by the boda boda industry.”
“A lot of work is needed because hospital emergency rooms sometimes run out of space,” Dr. Nsereko emphasized.
It is against this background that a special traffic police training was held in Entebbe on December 16, 2022 to raise boda bodas awareness of road killings.
At the event, several of the more than 200 boda bodas who attended in person admitted their on-the-road recklessness was at its peak.
The Ugandan traffic police have repeatedly called for regulation of the country’s boda boda.
“Most of these boda boda riders also need to understand the importance of items such as helmets and reflective jackets, especially at night,” officials from the ministry said at an event organized by the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare (KOFIH) on Thursday. Former World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr Lee Jong-wook Scholarship.
In parallel, KOFIH is working with the Ugandan Ministry of Health to strengthen the country’s health system through identified interventions, including emergency medical services, response to epidemics and epidemics, and capacity building for community health workers and infectious diseases.
Tne Dr Lee Jong-Wook Fellowship Program is an invitational training program for global healthcare personnel to share medium and long-term training strategies suitable for each country. Through this project, KOFIH provides customized education, pre-training and post-management according to the needs of learners.
Expert trainers from different fields of health pose for a photo at the end of a two-day road use awareness campaign organized by KOFIH Global Alumni Association in Uganda on December 16, 2022. Photo/IVAN KAMANA WALUNYOLO
The training program has benefited more than 94 Ugandan health workers from different health facilities across the country.
Health workers travel to South Korea to improve their knowledge through a roughly six-month training program for clinical specialists, infectious disease specialists, health managers and biomedical engineers.
After the training, they joined KGA (KOFIH Global Alumni Association) to network and share what they learned in Korea.
This year, KGA alumni conducted a training in the city of Entebbe involving 200 commercial taxi drivers and motorbike drivers.
“The training focused on first aid skills and knowledge and equipped them with reflective jackets and a first aid kit with basic tools,” explains KGI alumnus Beatrice Oling.
Dr Felix Magala, an emergency department medical officer at Entebbe Hospital, emphasized the importance of this type of training, saying: “It’s not just about physical injury or illness, but other initial care, including for people who suffer emotional distress from what they’ve experienced or witnessed. psychosocial support for traumatic events.”
