By Abel Kawere
State house has received video conferencing equipment from Huawei to enhance communication in the management of the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
The equipment including 2 sets of video conferencing systems was donated by the international telecommunications giant to facilitate the effectiveness and efficiency of communication and data sharing which is critical in the pandemic containment.
Receiving the donation, Prime Minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, who heads the National COVID-19 Task Force, said the digital facility will enable meetings between State House and government arms to take place at a time when social distancing is exercised to control the spread of COVID-19.
“I am happy that we have been given this powerful instrument to fight against COVID-19 and at the same time to efficiently and conveniently do our business,” the Prime Minister said.
Dr. Rugunda said the equipment will be sent to State House, Entebbe and State House, Nakasero and applauded Huawei for interconnecting many parts of Uganda with first class communication capabilities to ease and improve communication.
“Huawei remains consistent in promoting the well-known policy of government; E-government, which requires doing business electronically,” Dr. Rugunda added.
This is the second time Huawei is assisting government’s efforts in combatting COVID-19 with digital instrument. The ICT firm recently donated telemedicine equipment to the ministry of health to enable smooth communication between the Ministry of Health headquarters and front line health workers in hospitals across the country.
In his tweet, President Yoweri Museveni said, these facilities will allow the medical staff to conduct “real-time and interactive communication, including on their phones and computers, without much risk of physical contact,” which will help in speeding their operations while maintaining the social distance safety measure.