Lack of awareness aiding spread of TB
The Uganda Stop TB Partnership Ltd Executive Director Mr isiko kawanguzi (L) chats with the Chairperson of the Parliament Health Committee Dr Charles Ayume on July 29, 2022. PHOTO/PAUL ADUDE
What you need to know:
- Experts say the goal to end TB in Uganda by 2030 also requires individual efforts.
The Chairperson of the Health Committee in parliament, Dr Charles Ayume has said there is need to create awareness on Tuberculosis (TB) amongst citizens in order to curb its spread across the country.
“Many people are not very sure about TB. People think they can’t get TB. As long as we have HIV/AIDS, we also need to pay a lot of attention to TB,” he added.
Mr Ayunme disclosed that parliament has doubled funding to the TB program in the FY2022/2023 to ensure success of the World Health Organization (WHO) goal to end it by 2030.
“We were able to allocate Shs5billion for TB which included consumables, drugs and more essentials,” he remarked during the national TB advocacy meeting in Entebbe on Friday.
The Uganda Stop TB Partnership Ltd Executive Director Mr Isiko Kawanguzi said: “We estimate that Uganda needs about $47million annually to carry out anti-TB activities well. As of now, we have a funding gap of about $15million.”
Mr Isiko said the goal to end TB in the country by 2030 also requires individual efforts.
“We have gone around the 14 TB regions across the country and have called on stakeholders to join the fight to end TB. It must be mainstreamed in whatever we do in order to end it,” he emphasized.
Uganda has a national TB prevalence of about 40 percent, according to data from health authorities.
