Fife to fore in busting myths in Uganda

A team led by Fife clinicians and scientists is spearheading a campaign in Uganda to bust myths about Covid-19.

Experts from NHS Fife and St Andrews University have created adverts and programmes about the pandemic for broadcast on national television and radio.

In a bid to stop the virus spiralling out of control in the African country, the public information broadcasts aim to dispel misinformation.

The Scottish and Ugandan team have gathered contributions from local infectious diseases experts, doctors and researchers in Kampala to encourage people to follow proven scientific advice to avoid infection.

While Uganda has a strong record in detecting and managing disease outbreaks, the university said the scale of the Covid-19 outbreak in the era of 24-hour communications networks presented new challenges in ensuring public health messages are not overpowered by misinformation.

Dr Derek Sloan, senior lecturer at the School of Medicine and NHS Fife infectious diseases consultant, said: “We have worked with colleagues on the ground in Uganda to tackle TB, HIV and antibiotic resistance for a long time.”

He added: “We have seen the damage which can be caused by confusion around Covid-19, how it is spread and how to combat this novel virus, and we want to help tackle the problem.”

The Scottish clinicians and experts are involved in Uganda projects as part of the UK Research and Innovation Global Challenges Research Fund.

The team has also been working with Kampala doctors to protect the delivery of HIV-TB drugs to patients at home.

Dr Derek Sloan working with colleagues in Uganda.