Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH) has handed over equipment worth Shs113 million to Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) to strengthen health monitoring for mountain gorillas, tourists, and rangers at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park amid Uganda’s Ebola outbreak.
Handing over the donation, Dr Gladys Kalema, Founder and CEO of CTPH, said the support is aimed at protecting both people and wildlife during a critical period.
“We are really excited and proud to be supporting UWA in their efforts to protect wildlife for now and for future generations,” Dr Kalema said. “At Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, we are supporting them with 25 infrared non-contact thermometers. It’s really important right now during the Ebola outbreak in Uganda.”
The thermometers will screen visitors, park staff, and community members who move near the forest. “People who come to the parks must be healthy. They are not making each other sick, and they are not making the mountain gorillas sick either,” Dr Kalema explained.
CTPH also donated smartphones for ranger-based monitoring, 32 solar power banks, and 450 sets of rain gear for field staff. The smartphones are waterproof, shockproof, and hold a charge for two weeks. They will help rangers map illegal activities, track gorilla health, and improve anti-poaching operations.
“The park specifically asked for them,” Dr Kalema said. “They help with monitoring wildlife, looking at illegal activities in the park, and being able to map them so they can do better anti-poaching. They can also monitor the health of the gorillas and know where dangers are.”
The rain gear, funded by Tusk Trust through the Wildlife Ranger Challenge, addresses harsh field conditions. “Bwindi Forest is very, very rainy. It takes six months to a year for gear to wear out because of the tough conditions as rangers follow the animals,” she added.
Dr Kalema also warned that Ebola poses an existential risk to mountain gorillas, though the Bwindi population has never recorded a case. “When Ebola gets into the forest, it kills animals very quickly. Over 5,000 gorillas have died of Ebola in the past 30 years in Gabon and the Republic of Congo,” she said. “Thankfully, we have not had it here in Bwindi and Mgahinga. It would be a very big loss for us as a country, for future generations, and for tourism.”
She stressed that gorillas are not the source of Ebola. Scientists suspect fruit bats in Central and West Africa, people who ate infected gorilla meat contracted Ebola. “Here in Uganda, we don’t eat gorillas, but we have to make sure they don’t pick up Ebola from tourists.”
To reduce risk, CTPH is fundraising to train rangers, Village Health and Conservation Teams, Gorilla Guardians, and Community Animal Health Workers. The training will enforce visitor protocols: masks, 10-metre distance, no touching, and temperature screening. “We do need tourists now more than ever,” Dr Kalema said. “If tourists don’t come to see gorillas, poaching goes up like it did during the pandemic. Then, people enter the forest, come close to animals, and the Ebola situation will get worse. We need tourists to support community livelihoods so they don’t have to enter the forest to poach.”
She added, “We want to assure tourists it’s very safe. They just need to come ready to have their temperature measured, put on a mask, maintain distance, and respect the animals.”
Receiving the donation, Dr James Musinguzi, Executive Director of UWA, said the equipment is critical for surveillance of animal and visitor health.
“The thermometer guns, smartphones, power banks, and rain gear are very critical at this time. We are going to use them for surveillance of our animal health and visitor health. The rain gear will protect rangers and guides working in the tropical forest of Bwindi. The phones will capture data and help us communicate,” he said.
In addition, Dr Musinguzi revealed that UWA is monitoring gorilla and visitor health daily. “I want to assure visitors out there: come to Bwindi, you will be safe. We are ready and prepared to take in visitors after carrying out the necessary health protocols.”
He further noted that Ebola has hit peak-season revenue, saying, “This is our busy season, where we are supposed to be receiving a large number of visitors. Because of Ebola, we have to recast our budget and revenue expectations, and that definitely affects us.”
Dr Musinguzi, therefore, thanked CTPH and Tusk Trust, citing an active memorandum of understanding between UWA and CTPH, saying, “This donation will bridge a gap and build confidence in visitors. It adds to what we have to do so that we get a safe visitor walking in a safe environment to leave the animal safe, so that everybody is a winner.”
CTPH raised funds for the thermometers and rain gear from individual donors worldwide. The smartphones came through Tusk Trust and the Wildlife Ranger Challenge. Dr Kalema said more funding is needed to expand training and surveillance.
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