World Food Day 2024: Food Scientists Make Urgent Call for Nutritional Awareness and Reform in Uganda
Shift Media News 
BY PATRICK JARAMOGI
KAMPALA, Uganda|SHIFTMEDIA| A renowned city pastor has revealed that COVID 19 is not about to end, warning that it may last some 30 years from today.
Addressing the congregation, Victory Christian Center Church Ndeeba Lead Pastor Presiding Apostle Dr Joseph Serwadda asked Ugandans to keep praying as they observe the SOPs put in place by the Ministry of Health.
“We must thank God that the nation has managed to contain the numbers of COVID 19 infections to minimal levels. Ugandans need to know that Uganda is what it is today because of God, much as most people now have no time for God and worship,” said Serwadda.
He described the pandemic as a business venture created by pharmaceutical firms interested in minting money from the world. “The scientists have for all these years failed to get the vaccine for Malaria, they have failed to get a cure for HIV/AIDs, how do you say they will soon get a vaccine for Corona? these are just games. I call them “pharma wars”,” said Serwadda.
He said the attention has been put more on COVID 19 yet diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS kills more people than COVID 19. “We have so far lost over 70 people due to COVID-19 but there are hundreds of Ugandans dying daily due to malaria-related diseases, we must appreciate God for the low numbers so far. As you wash your hands, sanitise and social distance, also continue praying,” urged Apostle Serwadda.
Ugandan cases surpass 8,000
He said those who created COVID-19 are up to a game of minting money pointing out that: “We must learn to live with the pandemic because I don’t see a vaccine for it coming soon, perhaps after 30 years from now.”
Uganda by Wednesday, September 29, 2020, had 80,17 cases with 75 deaths and 3647 recoveries
More than one million people have died from the coronavirus, according to an AFP toll, with no let-up in a pandemic that has ravaged the world economy, inflamed diplomatic tensions and upended lives from Indian slums and Brazilian jungles to America’s biggest city.
The United States has the highest death toll with more than 200,000 fatalities, followed by Brazil, India, Mexico and Britain.
Sports, live entertainment and international travel ground to a halt as fans, audiences and tourists were forced to stay at home under strict measures imposed to curb the contagion.
Drastic controls that put half of humanity — more than four billion people — under some form of lockdown by April at first slowed the spread, but since restrictions were eased, infections have soared again.
By 0630 GMT Monday, the disease had claimed 1,001,093 victims from 33,112,474 recorded infections, according to an AFP tally collected from official sources by journalists stationed around the world, and compiled by a dedicated team of data specialists.
Uganda is set to open its airport to commercial flights tomorrow (Thursday) October 1 2020, after over six months of closure.
Surge
Europe, hit hard by the first wave, is now facing another surge in cases, with Paris, London and Madrid all forced to introduce controls to slow infections threatening to overload hospitals.
Masks and social distancing in shops, cafes and public transport are now part of everyday life in many cities around the world.
Mid-September saw a record rise in cases in most regions and the World Health Organisation has warned virus deaths could even double to two million without more global collective action.
Infections in India, home to 1.3 billion people, surged past six million on Monday, but authorities pressed ahead with a reopening of the battered South Asian economy.
Santosh, a creative writing student in India, said the virus was now “part of our lives”.
“You cannot shut down every business, because the economy cannot collapse… Covid-19 is not going to pay the rent.”
Ground zero
The SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the illness known as Covid-19 made its first known appearance in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, ground zero of the outbreak.
How it got there is still unclear but scientists think it originated in bats and could have been transmitted to people via another mammal.
Wuhan was shut down in January as other countries looked on in disbelief at China’s draconian controls, even as they went about their business as usual.
By March 11, the virus had emerged in over 100 countries and the WHO declared a pandemic, expressing concern about the “alarming levels of inaction”.
Hardest hit
The least privileged around the globe have been the hardest hit by the breakneck spread of the virus, which has also infected some among the powerful, rich and famous.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spent a week in the hospital. Madonna and Tom Hanks also tested positive.
The Tokyo Olympics, Rio’s Carnival and the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca are among the major events postponed or disrupted by the pandemic.
Back home in Uganda, the famous MTN Marathon, the Kabaka’s Birthday Run were also cancelled due to the pandemic. Similarly, the religious catholic event that attracts over 3 million annually at Namugongo Martyrs Shrine was also called off earlier in June.
