Uganda to deploy medics in DRC; Museveni leads while others follow

COMMENT | OBED K. KATUREEBE | It is now public information that the government of Uganda is going to deploy our medical experts to the DR Congo to combat the Ebola scourge that is devastating people in eastern DR Congo. According to Dr Daniel Kyabayinze, who is the Director of Public Health at the Ministry of Health, preparations are almost complete, and 160 medics will be stationed in Kasenyi in Ituri Province and Aru in northern DRC to assist DR Congo medics who are currently battling the Ebola scourge with little progress to curb it.

According to Kyabayinze, Government of Uganda, under the guidance of President Yoweri Museveni took the decision to assist DR Congo and fight the Ebola scourge from where it is emanating. Indeed, it makes a lot of sense. Rather than keeping us on tenterhooks, as we do border screenings and endless border patrolling, to those that are trying to sneak into Uganda for treatment, it is much better to go in and battle the pandemic from its source across the border in the eastern DR Congo.

The Congolese know very well that Uganda has good expertise in controlling Ebola. As a country we have since attained a lot of expertise through international collaborations like the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Therefore, it makes a lot of sense to rush and assist our neighbours. Indeed, it is in the spirit of East African Cooperation and the virtues of Ubuntu that define Uganda and, to a greater extent, President Museveni.

One of the four pillars of the NRM government ideology is Pan-Africanism. Pan-Africanism ideology seeks to unify, empower and uplift people of African descent. Rooted in the belief that Africans on the continent and the global diaspora share a common history and destiny. As Ugandans, we owe it to the Congolese brothers to give a helping hand, especially in such times of great need. As we promote cultural and economic cooperation, plus political self-determination. It is then imperative that we combine efforts to defeat this scourge together.

Some naysayers are already up in arms, talking of how Uganda is making a mistake of throwing its medics at the epicentre of the deadly disease Ebola. They are saying that President Museveni is risking the lives of our experts beyond our borders. This is unfortunate. If Uganda cannot make sacrifices for her dear neighbour, then who should?

After all, this is not the first time Uganda is coming out to give DR Congo a helping hand. The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) is in Congo, assisting the Congolese national force to flush out the ADF terrorists in Ituri Province. The joint UPDF and FARDC Operation Shujaa has severely degraded the ADF in Ituri Province, neutralizing hundreds of fighters, recovering weapons caches and rescuing hundreds of abductees.

Besides the joint security operations, Uganda is constructing key strategic roads in eastern DR Congo to ease trade between the two sister countries. Currently, Uganda is co-funding and actively constructing a $334 million, 223-kilometer road network, deep inside the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to boost cross-border trade and regional security. The joint strategic infrastructure project links Uganda to key eastern Congo cities, including Beni, Butembo and Goma.

Similar negative sentiments were expressed in 2007 when Uganda made the patriotic decision to deploy the UPDF in Somalia to fight Al-Shabaab terrorists that were wreaking havoc across East Africa. Most sceptics, including politicians like  Ssemujju Nganda, the former Kiira Municipality Member of Parliament, and top commentators like New Vision columnist Opiyo Oloya, wrote authoritatively that the UPDF mission in Somalia was dead on arrival.  Ssemujju Nganda predicted doom for the UPDF, arguing that there is no way the UPDF can succeed where the American forces had failed.

The giant strategist and devotee Pan-Africanist, President Museveni, ignored the doomsayers and deployed in Somalia. Not only did the mighty UPDF succeed in winning battles where Americans had failed, but it also ended the political mayhem that had characterized Somalia for decades.

Somalia is now a country with vast progress in socioeconomic transformation. Mogadishu Airport is among the busiest airports in the world; investors are flocking into Somalia and businesses in the capital, Mogadishu, are booming. Somalians are electing their leaders and have a vibrant Parliament.

Although there are still pockets of insurgency, what is clear is that Al-Shabaab has been defeated, and the remaining terrorist groups are so weakened that they can hardly cause the harm they were causing then in the region. Besides, courtesy of the UPDF, Somalia’s national force has been trained by Uganda and are now ready to defend their country. President Yoweri Museveni’s strategic security decisions, which prioritizes state capacity, intelligence-led operations and regional integration are indeed coming in handy as Somalia recovers from decades of civil war.

Therefore, Ebola can be defeated, but only through robust interstate cooperation, cross-border surveillance and multinational solidarity. Because the virus spreads rapidly across porous borders and can strain isolated health systems, localized efforts must be scaled into regional strategies to contain outbreaks effectively.

****

The writer works with Uganda Media Centre