Sebi Aruuna, a 35-year-old transporter working on the shores of Lake Kyoga in Nakasongola District, Uganda, shared his experience of surviving mpox, crediting Village Health Teams (VHTs) and public health messaging for his recovery.
Nakasongola was heavily impacted by the mpox outbreak that swept through communities around the lake in Lwampanga sub-county. Uganda confirmed its first cases of mpox in July 2024, prompting a public health emergency declaration from the Africa CDC and the World Health Organization. The Ministry of Health, with support from partners like UNICEF, launched a response to the outbreak.
Sebi recalled the onset of his illness: "I started feeling sick, I had an itchy skin then I got painful swelling. At first, I thought maybe it was because of stepping in the water from the lake, and the surrounding plants. But because I had also seen a poster on the neighbour’s wall which had a boy with a skin rash, I talked to our chairman for fishing (the VHT of the area)."
This conversation proved crucial. Coincidentally, an ambulance had arrived that day to transport a suspected case. Sebi's prompt action and the VHT system helped prevent the spread of mpox within his family. "When they told me that I might have mpox, it is not the lake water making me sick, and they told me it can spread to my family members, I feared for them, I did not go back home. I had seen the posters around the village, so I knew this was real. I waited for the ambulance to take me to the isolation unit, where I got treatment until I healed.
UNICEF, funded by Mastercard Foundation, played a significant role in the mpox response, supporting coordination, risk communication, community engagement, and social and behavioural change initiatives. They provided funding for Information, education, and communication (IEC) materials, film van campaigns, and community engagement by expert teams and VHTs.
The VHTs received training in mpox identification, prevention, and their role in case detection, referral, and contact tracing and follow-up. "Now people just come to us and report suspected cases," explained a VHT. "We call the district surveillance focal person who sends a team to take off samples, when they are positive the cases are taken to the isolation unit for treatment and they come back healed. We also do house to house visits to take the information to people in the deeper villages”.
This system facilitated early case detection, which was critical in Sebi's recovery. “When I got back to work and home, I was not shy to share my experience with my friends.” Sebi expressed deep gratitude to the VHTs and organizations like UNICEF, recognizing their vital role in saving his life and protecting his family. He even performed a celebratory dance emphasizing, "You people saved my life, who would have taken care of my wife and children if I had died!!!"
