UGANDA – Growing fears about the corona virus disease worldwide and in the East African region has led to the postponement of the AFMASS FoodTech Uganda edition, that was slated to take place on March 25-27, 2020 in Kampala, Uganda.
The event brings together the food, beverage and milling industry stakeholders from Uganda and the Great Lakes region of Africa, and joins a growing list of international conferences and meetings that have been cancelled or postponed in the past one month around the World, as the cases of COVID-19 continue to rise.
The event, which was originally planned for March 25-27, 2020 at the UMA Multi-purpose Hall in Kampala, Uganda is now provisionally planned for May 28-30, 2020 at the same venue.
“We regret to inform you that we have been forced by circumstances beyond our control to postpone this year’s AFMASS FoodTech Uganda edition to a later date, due to the increased concerns about the COVID-19 outbreak around the World,” said the organisers of the event, FW Africa Conference & Events.
“While we believe that most of us were ready to attend the event on the said dates in Uganda, we think that putting public safety first is important at this time, and we shall continue to follow the developments in the host country – and are in constant communication with the Government of Uganda on any further developments,” they added.
“The event has been provisionally postponed to May 28-30, 2020 at the UMA Multi-purpose Hall in Kampala, Uganda to provide adequate time for Ugandan authorities to safeguard public health risks brought by the corona outbreak around the World.”
Francis JUma, Team leader, fw africa conferences & events
The Ministry of Health also recently advised travellers from a number of countries to avoid non-essential travel to Uganda, including those from China, Iran, South Korea, France, Spain, Germany, Italy – and imposing a mandatory compulsory quarantine of 14 days for those travelling from these countries whenever they visit Uganda.
This move was going to impact a number of exhibitors and visitors from these countries if the event went ahead, say the organisers.
Uganda has had no confirmed case of COVID-19, according to the Minister, adding that a total of 1296 Chinese and Uganda nationals have been identified as high-risk and identified for purposes of follow up, with 765 travellers under quarantine in the country – where 465 have completed the mandatory 14 days isolation period.
Eight countries in Africa have reported cases of the disease, including Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria, Tunisia, Senegal, South Africa, Cameroon and Togo – with many of the cases connected to foreign nationals or citizens who had travelled to Europe one the last few weeks.
“While we believe that most of us were ready to attend the event on the said dates in Uganda, we think that putting public safety first is important at this time, and we shall continue to follow the developments in the host country – and are in constant communication with the Government of Uganda on any further developments,” say the organisers.
The organisers say that they are confident of holding a successful inaugural AFMASS FoodTech Uganda edition soon, and that those who have signed up to sponsor, exhibit and attend the event will have their slots reserved for them, while those who would like to sign up to participate at the event can continue do so on the website, www.afmass.com/uganda2020.
