Dr Diana Atwine, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health said the ministry uses 75% of its budget to buy drugs to treat diseases that can be prevented.
The Ministry of Health has partnered with Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) to sensitise Muslim communities on preventable diseases.
The workshop that took place at the ministry head office in Kampala attracted Muslim clerics including the Mufti of Uganda, Sheikh Shaban Ramadhan Mubajje, Regional and district Khadis from all parts of the country.
Speaking while addressing clerics, Dr Diana Atwine, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health said the ministry uses 75% of its budget to buy drugs to treat diseases that can be prevented if the public is aware of how to prevent them.
“It’s from this background that we want to involve religious leaders to communicate to communities about fighting against such diseases like malaria, measles, and others,” Atwine noted.
She added ‘We met with the leadership of the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council, led by Mufti Shaban Mubajje, to discuss partnership on awareness for health promotion and disease prevention. Sharing health information daily will benefit our moslem congregation that attends prayers 5 times a day’
The Mufti of Uganda Sheik Ramadhan Mubajje said he has always slept under a mosquito net to prevent contracting malaria. The Mufti said ‘Over 30 years ago, I made a resolution to always sleep under a mosquito net, and I can testify that for over the past 20 years, I have only fallen sick of Malaria once”. We should all adopt the Mufti’s message and translate it to prevention of all other diseases.