Blog: A Decade After the COVID-19 Pandemic

By Liz Kabibi

A heck of a year so far. As someone born in Uganda in the 1990s, I have witnessed my share of health and political epidemics: the 2000 Ebola outbreak in Northern Uganda among them. Over 170 lives including a Ugandan physician and supervisor of the St Mary’s Hospital, Lacor, outside of Gulu town, Dr Mathew Lukwiya were lost.

Dr. Lukwiya led the battle against the Ebola virus outbreak and was the last health worker at St. Mary’s to die of Ebola on February 6, 2001.

Then came the 2009 Buganda riots sparked by Kabaka Muwenda II of Buganda visiting Kayunga – a region which sought cultural autonomy from Buganda. A move ceased upon by anti-government political actors.

This was quickly followed by the 2011 walk to work protests – again an attempt by the political opposition led by Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) to unjustly usurp the power of the state.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic is different- it is bizarre!

All Schools – including all universities closed, non-essential workers urged to stay and work from home, arcades closed, a quiet night life for a happy people like Ugandans, all places of worship closed – a first for a people that proudly proclaim “For God and my country.” Yo! We have been robbed.

All this going on without NGOs and western governments lecturing us on “rights!” Covid19 is a global pandemic indeed.

To be alive at such a time of fear and yet of a great life lesson experience is two sides of the coin. A time when we are cheated of so much time and opportunity to grow economically, socially and in career.

A time when we fear for our lives and the lives of our loved ones especially those living in the most affected countries.

Yet a time of many learnt lessons; from the importance of saving and preparing for unforeseen disasters, the need to embrace technology and the power of creativity and innovation, among others.

If by the Grace of God I survive, I’ll have witnessed a pandemic that shut down the entire world. I will not only come out a better person, but will tell the future generations what happened from a witness point of view.

I will tell my children and their peers that COVID-19 originated from China and all the philosophies surrounding its cause. I hope by then we will be sure of the exact cause of the virus.

Swiftness

And oh! What a story I will tell of the candid leadership of the President of Uganda, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. The swiftness with which he acted, the effective crisis management and the excellent communication skills.

I will tell of President Museveni’s accurate, clear, and consistent communication during his several addresses on the global pandemic.

His composure that saved the nation of unnecessary panic, how he called upon all Ugandans to look beyond convenience and join in the fight against the pandemic.

What a strong story I will tell of the Uganda healthcare workers and the entire team from the Ministry of Health.

“Our health workers served diligently and committedly, the Minister of Health at the time, Hon. Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng was a composed, an extremely intelligent and professional lady. With a positive and bold attitude, our health care team put the safety of Uganda first,” I will narrate.

I hope that when we beat this pandemic and are finally free of the Corona Virus, some of the health workers and leaders at the fore front in the fight against COVID-19 will be recognized and rewarded for the fierce fight they put up.

Effect

However, it will be such a dull moment as I tell of what a big blow it was, to not only Uganda’s but the global economy, of how we stayed home without much productivity and how we were separated from our friends and family due to the quarantine.

I tear at the thought of the huge numbers of deaths across the globe.

“I had never heard of 500, 900, 1000 deaths in just one day, consecutively for a week and month from one country like I did during that pandemic. Countries like Italy, France, China, U.S. among others would lose hundreds and thousands of people in one day. Watching news then was depressing,” I will narrate.

I pen this from my home in Kiruhura and I kid you all not, this side of the country, it feels like a Christmas holiday. It is not until you check the calendar that you realize we are in the fourth month of the year, and hadn’t it been for a pandemic so fatal, one would be out there building a career and working on getting rich.

When you turn on the TV, almost every news channel is broadcasting something about COVID-19. Social media is awash with various prevention measures, and updates on new infections and recoveries. You are then awaken from your dream: It isn’t a holiday, it is a pandemic.

COVID-19 has not only robbed me of my time to get rich, freedom of movement and association, but has also robbed me of my culture. How could a Munyankole like I possibly go a month or two without a hug save for the need to practice social distancing?

I would be lying if I wrote that I have such a long list of friends, but I really miss my dear friends and I can’t wait to reunite with them once more.

The author is a Ugandan