A Wrexham charity has received UK aid funding to help urgently tackle the spread of coronavirus in rural Uganda.
Teams4U’s Small Charities Challenge Fund grant award from the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) will support 20 primary schools and 16 medical centres in Kumi, Uganda.
Through the provision of hand-washing facilities, children and staff will be given access to basic hygiene products like soap. Urgent guidance on how to reduce the spread of the virus will also be provided to the communities, by working alongside village health teams.
Many of the poorest countries lack access to soap and are not given information on the importance of handwashing in reducing the spread of disease such as coronavirus, rotavirus, and typhoid.
Above: Ben Omoding giving Beatrice Akiteng, soap and hand-washing equipment for Nyero Health Centre.
Beatrice Akiteng, at the Nyero Health Centre, in Uganda said: “We have a real problem because we have 13 staff and see 300 patients a day; mothers, babies, people with all kind of sicknesses; and without soap we are not looking after them properly. We need basic supplies to help us stop the spread of infection.”
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Minister Baroness Liz Sugg said: “The UK is working with organisations like Teams4U to stop the spread of the global coronavirus outbreak, find a vaccine and save lives.
“We know handwashing and access to soap are vital to prevent the spread of infection. With support from UK aid, this project will help safeguard lives in these hard to reach communities.”
Dave Cooke, Founder of Teams4U said: “We are delighted to have received funding again from the Government’s Small Charities Challenge Fund which will enable us to tackle this urgent need. We know that regular hand-washing with soap is one of the most effective ways of preventing many common diseases - some, such us diarrheal diseases account for one in nine child deaths worldwide. This may be a very straight-forward intervention, but it is pivotal to safeguarding life in these rural and impoverished communities.”
• Teams4U is an international aid charity, predominately working in Sub-Saharan Africa supporting projects that remove barriers to education and empower women and girls. The charity believes in a holistic approach and this investment in improving sanitation in schools is also part of a wider commitment to tackling period poverty.
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