HEPS-Uganda in collaboration with Health Action International-HAI are coordinating efforts on advocacy for prevention and treatment of snakebites in Uganda.
In Uganda, no exact data exist around the burden of snakebite but also effective treatment is not reliably available or affordable. Therefore overcoming the challenges of surveillance, awareness, prevention and treatment of snakebites is now within out grasp and urgent.
Every year around the world up to 2.7 million envenoming occur with related 81,000-138,000 deaths, 400,000 disabilities, under-reporting of up to 70%, most impoverished, rural communities are affected. Additionally, there is little access to effective treatment, antivenom is costly, and not region-specific.
In Uganda, no exact data exist around the burden of snakebite but also effective treatment is not reliably available or affordable.
To move the advocacy work on snakebite management in Uganda, we have since established a multi-stakeholder committee that includes Ministry of Health Vector Control Division, UWEC,WHO’s Disease Prevention and Control department, UNHCO, MoH Pharmacy Division, The Surgery Hospital, Snakes Uganda, Regional Snakebite Cordinator/Bio-Ken and TOTAL Uganda among other partners.
