Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary will be re-opening for visitors on the 10th June 2021. This has been one of the much anticipated news in the tourism industry of Uganda. The re-opening of the sanctuary now is a breath of fresh air for the northern Uganda tourism potential. The Rhinos at Ziwa have for some months been the missing piece to complete the big five destination especially for visitors to Murchison Falls National Park.
The sanctuary is the only place in Uganda where captive breeding of the white Rhinos has been a success and Rhino population has gradually increased over time. Ziwa also offers an important stop over for visitors to Murchison Falls. On top of Rhino tracking, there are other activities available at the sanctuary which include; boat rides, nature walks and birding. There is also the Amuka Safari Lodge close by which offers the best available accommodation in the area.
Details on the rates and visiting hours will follow shortly in a detailed briefing from UWA.
sanctuary. UWA’s intervention comes just days after unknown people descended on the Rhino sanctuary offices and vandalised office equipment including computers and documents last Thursday.
Ziwa Rhino and WildLife Ranches, the owners of the land where the Rhinos are being bred at Nakitoma Sub-county in Nakasongola District, and Rhino Fund Uganda, the organisation that manages the Rhinos, have for the last five years been embroiled in a row over the management of the sanctuary. Mr Bashir Hangi, the communications manager at UWA, said the authority has beefed up security of the Rhinos at the sanctuary. “The deployment is in line with UWA’s mandate of protecting wildlife resources in Uganda as per the Uganda Wildlife Act 2019. UWA is not party to the conflicts between Ziwa Ranchers and Rhino Fund Uganda and we reiterate our impartiality while stressing our mandate as an institution established to protect Uganda’s Wildlife heritage,” Mr Hangi said in an April 16 statement.
UWA further reveals that in the medium and long term, the Rhinos will be translocated to a protected area managed by UWA. In conservation management, translocation refers to intentional movement of plants or animals to a new area. “Plans are already underway towards achieving this strategy after the completion of a feasibility study to identify the most suitable locations for the introduction of Rhinos and the conditions that need to be met to do so,” Mr Hangi added.
Mr Augustine Mudukoyi, a manager at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, said the group of people who attacked the sanctuary disguised as tourists. “They were travelling in a coaster bus. They later descended on the property at the offices using sledge hammers and crow bars. They destroyed office computers and documents. We alerted police which later arrested the group,” Mr Mudukoyi said.
The savannah regional police spokesperson, Mr Issah Ssemogerere, said they have so far arrested 27 people alleged to have destroyed the property. Ms Angie Genade, the executive director of Rhino Fund, said the attackers targeted the office equipment and documents. “This is very unfortunate, but the matter is being handled by the police,” she said. Ms Genade said the incident happened as she attended an emergency meeting in Kampala between officials from the Uganda Wildlife, Rhino Fund Uganda and Capt Roy.
Termination of relations In an interview with the Daily Monitor, the family of Capt Joseph Charles Roy, distanced themselves from the alleged April 15 acts of vandalism, but insisted that they have since terminated relations with the Rhino Fund Uganda and are in the process of repossessing their land.
Capt Roy who is the founder of Ziwa Rhino and Wildlife Ranch (ZRWR) is a retired businessman and flight captain. “We are not party to the acts of vandalism at the Rhino Sanctuary. It is also true that we are in the process of repossessing our land at Nakitoma Sub-county,” a family member, who preferred anonymity, said.
About the dispute Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary that is located about 176kms North of Kampala City, was established in 2006 as a protected area for re-introduction of the rear White Rhino family that had become extinct in Uganda. The Rhino Sanctuary that sits on a 16,000 acre land is now at the centre of dispute between the family of Capt Joseph Charles Roy who owns the lease and the management of Rhino Fund Uganda.
In November 2017, Capt Roy terminated the concession with both the Rhino Fund Uganda and D and D Lodges after a disagreement, but Rhino Fund Uganda sought arbitration through court as provided in an earlier agreement between the two parties over the management of the sanctuary. Daily Monitor has established that at the height of the dispute in February 2019, the parties sought the attention of President Museveni to resolving the matter. The fall out is reported to have resulted from failure to honor the agreement in a concession entered between the two parties on how to share the proceeds from the Rhino Sanctuary and the D and D International Lodges and Restaurant at the sanctuary.
The race of the new speaker has been a tight race we are ready to see what our new members are going to do for the citizens of uganda the link I have shared has all the details
The Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) through its Tourism product development and diversification programme has partnered with Agribusiness enterprises to support the development and promotion of Agro- Tourism across 18 regions and 51 districts in the Country.
This initiative comes after UTB together embarked on a familiarization trip to the Western region districts of; Mbarara, Isingiro and Bushenyi to pay a courtesy visit at Agribusiness incubation farms including; Gudie Incubation Farm Limited, Bushenyi Youth Forum Project (Bushenyi demonstration farm) and Excel Hort Consult Agribusiness Incubator Limited (EHCAI). Through this partnership, the board will focus on the development of Agro-Tourism products and services, create awareness, support and facilitate Agribusiness and Tourism stakeholders so as to boost the tourism sector and cushion it through multi-sectoral collaborations.
Having analyzed the impact caused by the outbreak of Covid-19 on Uganda’s tourism sector, the board opted to tap into opportunities availed by other sectors such as Agriculture, Health, Manufacturing, among others to boost tourism since the industry co-exists with almost every sector of the Economy.
Commenting about the partnership, Uganda Tourism Board Chief Executive Officer –Lilly Ajarova applauded the opportunity presented by merging Agriculture and Tourism as this will be a great milestone towards exploring possible opportunities for developing Agro-tourism in the Country and also to help people involved in tourism to have an extra income even when the sector is on a low and in this way fast track the achievement of Middle income status as per Vision 2040 and be able to diversify the tourism product offering in the country.
Ajarova added that, ‘’Tourism and Agriculture both work hand in hand and employ a big number of the population in the Country, therefore merging the two sectors presents a unique opportunity for economic development and also bring about an improvement in peoples livelihoods and incomes for sustainable growth.
Excel Hort Consult Agribusiness Incubator Limited – Director General Mr Alex Abiho, who also serves as the CEO of African Incubation Centre that supports the development of Small and Medium Enterprises in East and Central Africa working closely with different partners lauded Uganda Tourism Board for the background visit and pledged to liase with the Tourism board so as to support Agribusiness SME’s across 18 regions and 51 districts in Uganda.
He said, ‘’We have also committed to work with partners such as; Uganda Tourism Board, Gofan Safaris, Travel Neza, Agro-Tourism Association among others towards the development of Agriculture and Tourism in the Country.’’
He added that, for the next 5 years ahead, EHCAI looks further to incubate upto 27,000 start-ups that are willing to join the sector through training of Youth and Women in collaboration with the Uganda Tourism Board for support and facilitation.
He further appreciated new relations with UTB towards fulfilling the African Union Agenda 2023 aimed at developing Agriculture and Tourism.
Mr Ariho also revealed that EHCAI is looking towards improving on Research as through this, the Private Sector will liase with Universities for forums on Agribusiness development and Research.
He concluded that, through partnerships with the Operation Wealth Creation (OWC), Agriculture Farm Service Centre for Western region and National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) that mobilise farmers groups and Associations, there’s need to use technology before preparing farmers for their packages and also through collaboration with the Microfinance Support Centre, that will be good for affordable financing to farmers and also make Uganda able to produce profitable crisps which initially were imported from South Africa among other Countries.
Mr John Mujuni, the Research Professor at Makerere University also noted that they have been working together to make Agriculture attractive right from motivating start-ups from incubation, production level until having the product itself.
He revealed that, ‘’Tourism has for long-time been confined to Wild animals, National parks, etc and therefore with the diversification of Agro-Tourism, this will be the only way to go so as to develop the Agricultural sector.
Background
Since the outbreak of the Corona Virus disease; which was declared by the People’s Republic of China on 31 December 2019, the global tourism sector has been hit with Uganda no different. However, some sectors have continued to somehow thrive even during this pandemic like Agriculture, Health, Manufacturing, etc. Since tourism can co-exist with almost any industry, the sectors that are thriving present an opportunity for tourism to merge with them and be cushioned against the adverse effects the pandemic has put upon tourism.
Furthermore, UTB is mandated to Liaise with tourism partners to broaden the diversity of appropriate tourism products and services offered in the country to ensure that these products developed align with the UTB’s marketing approach and also conform to international standards.
It is against this background that UTB would like to explore possibilities of developing Agro tourism in the Country to help people involved in tourism to have an extra income even when the sector is on a low and in this way fast track achievement of Middle income status as per Vision 2040 and also diversify the tourism product offering in the country. Agro tourism is the business of establishing farms as travel destinations for educational and recreational purposes. Agro tourism is a hybrid concept that merges elements of two complex industries—Agriculture and Tourism—to open up new profitable markets for farm products and services and provide travel experiences for a large regional market.
ABOUT UGANDA TOURISM BOARD
Uganda Tourism Board is a statutory organization mandated under the Uganda Tourism Act 2008 to promote Uganda as a preferred destination for both domestic and foreign tourists and to enforce and monitor standards in the tourism sector. UTB aims to create inclusive opportunities for the tourism sector through market transformation.
Uganda already has so many world-class properties for our guests to enjoy. This new effort will bring so many more up to standard, while Uganda remains one of the best value-for-money destinations.
The range of food in Kampala is dazzling — virtually every African country is represented and many other countries as well — from India and Thailand to China, Mexico, Nigeria, France…and many more.
For this multi-day indulgence in Kampala’s best we chose 4 of its finest restaurants: Ethiopian Villages; Bight of Benin; St Anthony and The Lawns.
We brought along our 4 year old son, Mukisa, as he has the appetite of a rhino, although he’s got nicer feet.
The first night, at the Lawns, he chose crocodile and he gobbled it down just like a croc. He is definitely not a picky eater. Other nights he tried the ostrich, the cape buffalo, and the impala.
Like me, he enjoys the atmosphere of The Lawns — big trees adjacent to the golf course, lush flowers, and water everywhere.
The next night we tried Ethiopian Village. “Is that a chapati?” Muki asked. “It is not,” I replied. “It is a very large piece of bread. It’s called injera. And it is the largest disc of bread you’re ever likely to encounter.”
At St. Anthony’s we had luwombo, muchomo and various other Ugandan delicies. Muki ate them without discrimination, and with many appreciative sounds.
The final night, at Bight of Benin, we inhaled many wonderful Ghanian treats.
But the eating doesn’t stop when you leave the restaurant or cafe. The Kampala street food scene is designed to indulge, and indulge it does. The offerings are delicious and varied — vendors will serve large slices of watermelon, mango, pineapple, passion fruit, bananas and any other tropical delicacies you may dream of.
Continuing your eating pleasure as you stroll, you can select from an array of samosas (deep-fried pastry triangles filled with mixtures of meat and vegetables); chapatis; rolex (fried chapatis rolled with eggs, tomato and cabbage — among other variations); pork, goat and beef sausage; beef, pork and goat ribs; smoked tilapia; fried cassava; rice, beans and matooke; BBQ perch; and, Muki’s favorite, fried grasshoppers.
There is plenty of beer on offer, as well as wine, waragi, whisky and more. For children, there are many excellent fresh fruit juices, such as watermelon, orange, pineapple, apple, and numerous blends.
As part of your Kampala visit we can plan a focused food tour of the city’s wonderful first class eateries. You will not be disappointed!
The first malaria vaccine to show more than 75% efficacy, a World Health Organization specified goal, has been developed by scientists at the University of Oxford!
Health care providers, security personnel, teachers, journalists, persons aged 50 years and above and those with underlying health conditions to benefit from phase one of vaccination
KAMPALA- Friday, 5 March 2021– The Ministry of Health has today received 864,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, shipped via the COVAX facility—the world’s facility for universal access to COVID-19 vaccines.
The arrival marks a historic step towards the goal to ensure equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines globally, in an unprecedented effort to provide at least 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine by the end of 2021. Uganda targets to vaccinate 49.6 per cent of the population, which is about 21,936,011, in a phased manner. Each phase is planned to cover 20 per cent of the population – approximately 4.38 million people.
The vaccine doses were received at Entebbe International Airport by Uganda’s Health Minister, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng Ocero accompanied by members of the COVAX Facility and ambassadors of the European Union and countries whose funding enabled manufacturing, transport, and distribution.
COVAX, the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, is co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi – the Vaccine Alliance and the World Health Organization (WHO) – working in partnership with UNICEF as key implementing partner. UNICEF is handling the procurement and delivery of the vaccines and related supplies on behalf of the COVAX Facility.
The AstraZeneca vaccines manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII) were transported by UNICEF from India (Mumbai) to Uganda.
The COVAX facility has allocated 3,552,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Uganda for the period of January – June 2021. The remaining 2,688,000 doses are expected by June 2021.
The first phase of the FREE vaccination will target health workers in public and private health facilities who by the nature of their work are at higher risk of contracting the disease compared to other categories of people. Other target groups in order of priority are security personnel; teachers; humanitarian front-line workers, people above 50 years with underlying conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, heart, kidney, or liver disease; people aged 18-50 with the same underlying conditions; and other emerging high risk and priority essential groups as more vaccine doses arrive in the country.
“The Ministry of Health is finalizing preparations to start vaccination against COVID-19 and with the arrival of the initial batch of 864,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines today, vaccination is scheduled to begin on 10 March 2021,” Dr. Aceng said.
“The arrival of the vaccines in Uganda is a significant moment and a concrete example of global solidarity in action,” said EU Ambassador to Uganda, H.E. Attilio Pacifici. “Ever since the outbreak of this unprecedented crisis, which is affecting all of us, the European Union and its Member States have supported Uganda and our other African partners in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“Health care providers have been pivotal in managing the COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda. With their crucial role, dealing with patients, comes the high risk of being infected with the disease. We, therefore, thought it wise to have them immunized first along with teachers to protect them,” said the WHO Representative to Uganda, Dr. Yonas Tegegn Woldemariam.
“We specially want to thank the donor partners including the European Union, the UK Government, The United States of America and others for the support they made to COVAX through GAVI to make this possible,” he added.
UNICEF Representative in Uganda, Dr. Munir Safieldin said, “Today marks an important milestone for Uganda. UNICEF is pleased to be a key partner in the COVAX Facility by ensuring that the vaccines are delivered to the people that need them most.”
“Unless we protect health care providers, health systems will remain overwhelmed, and the most vulnerable children will continue to lose access to life-saving services, risking years of progress and resulting in the poorest children falling further behind. The faster we can combat the pandemic, the faster Uganda can recover, leading to schools re-opening, health centers functioning and ensuring that serious disruptions to children’s lives end,” Safieldin underlined.
The main objective of the National Deployment Vaccination Plan (NDVP) is to vaccinate up to 49.6 per cent of the population in a phased manner. Each phase is intended to cover 20 per cent of the population. The eligible population comprises of individuals 18 years and above.
Notes to Editors
About COVAX
· COVAX, the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, is co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance Gavi) and the World Health Organization (WHO) – working in partnership with UNICEF as key implementing partner, developed and developing country vaccine manufacturers, the World Bank, and others. It is the only global initiative that is working with governments and manufacturers to ensure COVID-19 vaccines are available worldwide to both higher-income and lower-income countries.
· CEPI is focused on the COVAX vaccine research and development portfolio: investing in R&D across a variety of promising candidates, with the goal to support development of three safe and effective vaccines which can be made available to countries participating in the COVAX Facility. As part of this work, CEPI has secured first right of refusal to potentially over one billion doses for the COVAX Facility to a number of candidates, and made strategic investments in vaccine manufacturing, which includes reserving capacity to manufacture doses of COVAX vaccines at a network of facilities, and securing glass vials to hold 2 billion doses of vaccine. CEPI is also investing in the ‘next generation’ of vaccine candidates, which will give the world additional options to control COVID-19 in the future.
· Gavi is focused on procurement and delivery for COVAX: coordinating the design, implementation and administration of the COVAX Facilityand the Gavi COVAX AMC and working with its Alliance partners UNICEF and WHO, along with governments, on country readiness and delivery. The COVAX Facility is the global pooled procurement mechanism for COVID-19 vaccines through which COVAX will ensure fair and equitable access to vaccines for all 190 participating economies, using an allocation framework formulated by WHO. The COVAX Facility will do this by pooling buying power from participating economies and providing volume guarantees across a range of promising vaccine candidates. The Gavi COVAX AMC is the financing mechanism that will support the participation of 92 low- and middle-income countries in the Facility, enabling access to donor-funded doses of safe and effective vaccines. Gavi is coordinating and fundraising for the COVAX AMC and its no-fault compensation mechanism, and funding UNICEF procurement of vaccines as well as partners’ and governments work on readiness and delivery, including support cold chain equipment, technical assistance, syringes, vehicles, and other aspects of the vastly complex logistical operation for delivery. UNICEF and the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) will be acting as procurement coordinators for the COVAX Facility, helping deliver vaccines to COVAX AMC participants and others.
· WHO has multiple roles within COVAX: It provides normative guidance on vaccine policy, regulation, safety, R&D, allocation, and country readiness and delivery. Its Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization develops evidence-based immunization policy recommendations. Its Emergency Use Listing (EUL) / prequalification programmes ensure harmonized review and authorization across member states. It provides global coordination and member state support on vaccine safety monitoring. It developed the target product profiles for COVID-19 vaccines and provides R&D technical coordination.WHO leads, together with UNICEF, the Country Readiness and Delivery workstream, which provides support to countries as they prepare to receive and administer vaccines. Along with Gavi and numerous other partners working at the global, regional, and country-level, the CRD workstream provides tools, guidance, monitoring, and on the ground technical assistance for the planning and roll-out of the vaccines.Along with COVAX partners, WHO has developed a no-fault compensation scheme as part of the time-limited indemnification and liability commitments.
· UNICEF is leveraging its experience as the largest single vaccine buyer in the world and working with manufacturers and partners on the procurement of COVID-19 vaccine doses, as well as freight, logistics and storage. UNICEF already procures more than 2 billion doses of vaccines annually for routine immunization and outbreak response on behalf of nearly 100 countries. In collaboration with the PAHO Revolving Fund, UNICEF is leading efforts to procure and supply doses of COVID-19 vaccines for COVAX. In addition, UNICEF, Gavi and WHO are working with governments around the clock to ensure that countries are ready to receive the vaccines, with appropriate cold chain equipment in place and health workers trained to dispense them. UNICEF is also playing a lead role in efforts to foster trust in vaccines, delivering vaccine confidence communications and tracking and addressing misinformation around the world.
About CEPI
· CEPI is an innovative partnership between public, private, philanthropic, and civil organisations, launched at Davos in 2017, to develop vaccines to stop future epidemics. CEPI has moved with great urgency and in coordination with WHO in response to the emergence of COVID-19. CEPI has initiated ten partnerships to develop vaccines against the novel coronavirus. The programmes are leveraging rapid response platforms already supported by CEPI as well as new partnerships.
Before the emergence of COVID-19, CEPI’s priority diseases included Ebola virus, Lassa virus, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus, Nipah virus, Rift Valley Fever and Chikungunya virus. CEPI also invested in platform technologies that can be used for rapid vaccine and immunoprophylactic development against unknown pathogens (Disease X).
About Gavi
· Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership that helps vaccinate half the world’s children against some of the world’s deadliest diseases. Since its inception in 2000, Gavi has helped to immunise a whole generation – over 822 million children – and prevented more than 14 million deaths, helping to halve child mortality in 73 developing countries. Gavi also plays a key role in improving global health security by supporting health systems as well as funding global stockpiles for Ebola, cholera, meningitis and yellow fever vaccines. After two decades of progress, Gavi is now focused on protecting the next generation and reaching the unvaccinated children still being left behind, employing innovative finance and the latest technology – from drones to biometrics – to save millions more lives, prevent outbreaks before they can spread and help countries on the road to self-sufficiency. Learn more at www.gavi.org and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.
The Vaccine Alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. View the full list of donor governments and other leading organizations that fund Gavi’s work here.
About WHO
· The World Health Organization provides global leadership in public health within the United Nations system. Founded in 1948, WHO works with 194 Member States, across six regions and from more than 150 offices, to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. Our goal for 2019-2023 is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and wellbeing.
·UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone. For more information about UNICEF and its work for children, visit www.unicef.org. For more information about COVID-19, visit www.unicef.org/coronavirus . Find out more about UNICEF’s work on the COVID-19 vaccines here, or about UNICEF’s work on immunization here.
· The Access to COVID-19 Tools ACT-Accelerator, is a new, ground-breaking global collaboration to accelerate the development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines. It was set up in response to a call from G20 leaders in March and launched by the WHO, European Commission, France and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in April 2020.
· The ACT-Accelerator is not a decision-making body or a new organisation but works to speed up collaborative efforts among existing organisations to end the pandemic. It is a framework for collaboration that has been designed to bring key players around the table with the goal of ending the pandemic as quickly as possible through the accelerated development, equitable allocation, and scaled up delivery of tests, treatments and vaccines, thereby protecting health systems and restoring societies and economies in the near term. It draws on the experience of leading global health organisations which are tackling the world’s toughest health challenges, and who, by working together, are able to unlock new and more ambitious results against COVID-19. Its members share a commitment to ensure all people have access to all the tools needed to defeat COVID-19 and to work with unprecedented levels of partnership to achieve it.
· The ACT-Accelerator has four areas of work: diagnostics, therapeutics, vaccines and the health system connector. Cross cutting all of these is the workstream on Access & Allocation.
Media Contacts
In Ministry of Health: Emmanuel Ainebyoona, Senior Public Relations Officer, +256 779220588, emmabyoona@gmail.com
In WHO: Benjamin Sensasi, Health Promotion Advisor and Communications Officer, +256772507906, sensasib@who.int
Edmond Mwebembezi, Public Information Officer, +256786497073, mwebembezie@who.int
In UNICEF: Catherine Ntabadde, Communication Specialist, +256 772147111, cntabadde@unicef.orgPrimary country
OCHA coordinates the global emergency response to save lives and protect people in humanitarian crises. We advocate for effective and principled humanitarian action by all, for all.
