By
Akidi Susan
At least 2,000 residents of Bugiri in Busoga Sub-region are said to be infested with jiggers. According to the District Health Officer, Dr Stephen Kirya, the problem is rampant in the sub-counties of Bulesa, Budaya, Muterere, Nankoma, Buwunga and part of Bulidha
Last week Rotary Club of Bugiri solicited approximately Shs 400m from the Rotarians in Germany to help in the fight against jiggers in Bugiri district.
The Bugiri Rotary Club President Malijani Azalwa said they decided to team up with their comrades from Germany to fund this project after discovering that jiggers were affecting both humans and domestic animals in most sub-counties in Bugiri.
Speaking at the launch of the campaign to fight jiggers, Azalwa said the secured funds will be used to facilitate medical doctors and village health teams to reach out to families most affected by the jigger infestation.
The DHO said the biggest obstacle to Jiggers eradication in Busoga Sub region is the belief among some locals that sorcery has a hand in the infestation. So instead of going to hospitals, the locals go to herbalists while some claim jiggers are hereditary.
In 2008 the then parliamentarians considered the possibility of arresting people infested with jigger-fleas, arguing that the affected were flouting public health laws. Jiggers have proved to be an interminable menace in Busoga region.
According to an anonymous health worker, the resurgence is as a result of the people’s poor attitude towards personal hygiene.
“When you tell them they need to bathe and maintain cleanliness around their homes, they say you are abusing them” the health worker said
