President Yoweri Museveni on Friday flagged off 282 pickup trucks to support logistical measures already in place for COVID-19 surveillance across the country.
The vehicles were acquired using the funds collected through donations by Ugandans last year.
“These are your cars, bought with the money you donated to us during the first COVID-19 fundraising drive. I wanted the money to go to things that we can see,” the president said via Twitter Friday evening.
“The decision by selfless Ugandans to give to this cause is a reaffirmation of the NRM doctrine. We have always believed in the capacity of Africans to solve their problems. The spirit of self-sufficiency is the correct way and these 282 vehicles are from that spirit,” he added.
“I thank every one of you that made a contribution, I thank the committee that steered this project to success. I now DIRECT that these vehicles are put to better use for the general benefit of our people.”
According to data from the ministry of health, as of October 20, 1,768,664 tests had been conducted, 2,688,361 doses of Covid vaccines had been administered and the test positivity rate stood at 3%, with 111 new cases confirmed on that day.