In August 2020, Uganda Professional Drivers Network signed a services contract with Transaid World Wide Services Limited for the distribution of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) at 5 Border points in Uganda namely; Elegu in Amuru District, Pakwach in Pakwach District, Kampala in Kampala City, Mutukula in Rakai District and Lukaya in Kalungu District.
Activities and progress
- A total of 300 PPEs were distributed with 150 in Pakwach and another 150 in Elegu. To date, a cumulative total of 1,500 PPEs have been distributed by UPDN in four distribution points of Pakwach, Elegu, Lukaya, and Mutukula.
- The 4 th distribution activity took place in 2 project locations of Elegu and Pakwach parking facilities with 300 PPEs distributed.
- As was the case in the 3 rd round, PPE 4 th round distributions didn’t take place in Lukaya, Kampala and Mutukula.
- In general, drivers have appreciated the initiative as this project has greatly contributed to a reduction in the number of truckers affected by Covid 19. This has been done through constant awareness and Covid 19 educative messages by the UPDN field officers.
Distribution Details:
Challenges
- The number of PPES delivered was less than the expected numbers and this created some delays in the distribution processes.
- Due to some unavoidable circumstances weather, delayed deliveries, etc, UPDN has to date managed to distribute a total of 1500 PPEs out of the planned 2000 as per the contract. This was also affected by the reduction of redistribution points from 5 to only 2.
Conclusion:
The PPE distribution project has been much appreciated by various stakeholders and driver communities since it supported a key intervention area that most development partners had ignored. It has also created much impact on behavioural change among drivers who never took Covid prevention measures seriously. To some extent, some drivers didn’t believe in the existence of covid 19 virus, while most had little knowledge in relation to Covid 19 until they started interacting with our field officers at various distribution points. UPDN also applied a peer-to-peer approach where fellow drivers were recruited as field officers which made it more easier for truckers to understand the messages on covid 19 preventive measures.
