The Ministry of Health in Uganda has said it needs four boat ambulances, each costing around $180,000 (Shs666 million), to reduce deaths from water accidents on Lake Victoria.
Dr John Baptist Waniaye, the commissioner of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) at the ministry, on Thursday, said that having boat ambulances is part of the robust strategy coordinated by the Office of the Prime Minister to prevent drowning.
“We have so far acquired 14 of the boat ambulances, but we require 25 on the major water bodies [in the country]. For Lake Victoria, we have seven boat ambulances, but we need an additional four,” Dr Waniaye said.
Along with drowning victims, boat ambulances are used to transport critically ill patients, pregnant women, and others to various islands in Lake Victoria.
“These (boat ambulances) aid in rescue so that drowning victims can conveniently access these boats and are transported to the lakeshore while they are receiving care.
Each boat ambulance costs between $180,000 and $190,000 (Shs666 million to Shs700 million), according to Dr. Waniaye.
Dr. Waniaye explained that the paramedics give the drowning victim basic life-saving care (first aid) on the boat ambulance to open the airways and allow the person to breathe.
In her remarks, Dr. Waniaye discussed the tragic accident that occurred on Lake Victoria on Wednesday, in which 25 people are said to have perished when their boat capsized. However, by Wednesday night, five had been saved.
Fishermen reported the large boat carrying 34 bags of charcoal, fresh foods, and silverfish from a landing site in the Kalangala District on Wednesday. The incident was attributed by police to “overloading and bad weather.”
According to a 2021 report by the Makerere University School of Public Health, at least 3,500 Ugandans across 74 districts have drowned over a period of two and a half years. This equates to 1,400 cases annually.
According to data available, Uganda has the highest drowning death rate in the world—502 per 100,000 cases—in lakeside fishing communities, according to Dr. Frederick Oporia of the School of Public Health. The estimate for the continent is 60 times lower than that.
On the other hand, the Commissioner of EMS stated that they are collaborating with the Ministry of Works and Transport to build rescue centres with rescue clinics on major waterways where they will station paramedics to deliver better medical care. Dr. Waniaye continued, “There are locations on Lake Victoria where the rescue centres are being built.
The government of Uganda, through the Ministry of Works and Transport of Uganda, received funding from the African Development Bank for the construction of the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre at Entebbe, according to a June 2023 update from the East African Community’s Lake Victoria Basin Commission.
According to information from the Ministry of Works, efforts are being made to increase safety along Uganda’s waterways by strengthening the “Search and Rescue system and establishing trustworthy weather monitoring systems on major Ugandan lakes including Lakes Victoria, Kyoga, and Albert.”
“To enhance Search and Rescue capabilities, the Ministry of Works and Transport has acquired a Mobile Search and Rescue (SAR) Facility called DELTA 1 and a well-equipped ambulance boat, which will soon be launched and will be able to respond to any major distress incident to save lives,” according to ministry information.
In addition, Dr. Waniaye stated that they are collaborating with other partners and sectors to raise awareness of the benefits of swimming and wearing life jackets in preventing drowning and other water-related mishaps.
“We are also participating in sensitisation because the concept of drowning involves some preventable situations, like someone going to swim or fish while drunk. But if someone has a chronic condition that can impair their functionality—like epilepsy, diabetes, these people are sensitised to make them understand their vulnerability,” he added.
