Low testing, drug resistance frustrate fight against TB
Health minister Jane Ruth Acheng (centre) hands over certificates to some of the heads of regional referral hospitals who were recognised for their fight against Tuberclosis during the USAID Defeat TB conference in Kampala on Wednesday. Photo / Abubaker Lubowa
What you need to know:
- Around 30 people die every day in the country due to TB, a preventable and curable disease, according to statistics from the Health ministry.
Health officials have highlighted limited testing and drug resistance as major roadblocks in the fight to end tuberculosis (TB) as a public health threat by 2030.
Around 30 people die every day in the country due to TB, a preventable and curable disease, according to statistics from the Health ministry.
Speaking on Wednesday during the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Defeat TB end of project conference in Kampala, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, the Health minister, said with support from partners, they have increased investment toward the fight.
“The Ministry of Health remains committed to ending TB by 2030 by providing an enabling environment for controlling and preventing the disease. Recently, we have introduced a new technology for TB screening and diagnosis,” she said.
Dr Aceng said diagnosis capacity had been expanded and they are bringing all stakeholders on board from community, Ministries, Departments and Agencies to achieve the goal.
Dr Stavia Turyahabwe, the commissioner for TB and Leprosy Control, told this newspaper that they have 299 GeneXpert machines already deployed to test for tuberculosis (TB) in hospitals across the country. She said early testing is essential in mitigating the spread of the disease and preventing death.
“The GeneXpert machines were initially going to hospitals and higher level health facilities, but right now, we are giving Health Centre IVs. We have also improved significantly on handling drug-resistant TB,” she said.
“We are approaching half the estimated cases, more than 45 percent of the cases are now getting the treatment. The GeneXpert machine helps us detect drug-resistant TB,” she added.
Dr Aceng on the other hand said the USAID Defeat TB activity was a five-year Activity (2017-2022) that has improved TB case notification, case detection and treatment outcome through health system strengthening and the use of quality improvement approaches.
Dr Aceng said some of the project achievements are an increase in TB case detection rate from 61 percent in 2017 to 72 percent and increase in TB Preventive Treatment (TPT) coverage among persons living with HIV/Aids from 17 percent in 2018 to 90 percent in 2021.
She noted that the treatment success rate increased from 69 percent to 85 percent within the focus districts of Kampala, Mukono and Wakiso.
“The project has contributed tremendously to the country’s TB profile. In 2021, the country notified 74,757 incident TB cases of the estimated 90,000 annual cases, achieving 84 percent treatment coverage and a treatment success rate of 85 percent,” she said.
Mr Richard Nelson, the director for USAID Uganda Mission, said they provide Uganda $8m (Shs30 billion) each year to fight TB. He said the US government will continue to support the fight against TB in Uganda.
“During Defeat TB’s five years, performance against targets for all forms of TB improved at the national level and in focus districts. Here in Uganda, we have provided bilateral TB technical assistance for over a decade. Every year, the US government invests over $8 million to support Uganda’s national TB programme through different programmes and activities,” he said.
Dr Turyahabwe told this newspaper that the government has given them Shs18b this year, an amount several times below the $150m (Shs571b) they need every year to fight TB.
