Drug-resistant TB on the rise in Uganda

KAMPALA - Uganda’s fight against tuberculosis (TB) is facing a growing challenge due to the increasing burden of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB). 

Dr Emmanuel Tweyongyere, a senior medical officer and cross-border TB co-ordinator at the health ministry’s National TB and Leprosy Programme, said the country registers an estimated 1,200 new MDR-TB cases annually; however, only 50% of these cases are diagnosed. 

This is of concern as Uganda joined the international community on March 24 in commemorating World Tuberculosis Day under the theme: Yes! We Can End TB: Commit, Invest, Deliver. 

“We are currently conducting a drug resistance survey to establish the actual burden of multidrug-resistant TB in the country,” Tweyongyere says, highlighting gaps in the healthcare system that make it difficult to contain the spread of drug-resistant strains.

He says the TB prevalence in Uganda currently stands at 198 cases per 100,000 people, with men four times more likely to contract the disease than women. 

Tweyongyere notes that 15% of TB cases occur in children under 14 years. “To enhance TB diagnosis and treatment accessibility, the Government has undertaken several measures, including engaging community and religious leaders, policymakers and private-sector players to advocate for TB services. 

There has also been an expansion of mobile TB clinics and the adoption of a patient-centred treatment approach to improve accessibility,” he says.

The COVID-19 pandemic initially disrupted TB case detection, but authorities have since intensified outreach campaigns to recover lost ground. Efforts to raise public awareness include engaging TB survivors in community sensitisation, using mass media in multiple languages and conducting large-scale screening campaigns. 

As Uganda strives to strengthen its TB response, experts stress the importance of increased surveillance, investment in diagnostic capacity and targeted interventions to curb the growing MDR-TB crisis. 

The Ministry of Health has intensified efforts in sensitisation and resource mobilisation to meet the ambitious goal of ending TB by 2030. 

During the Seventh Annual Tuberculosis and Leprosy Stakeholders Conference held last year in Kampala, the Minister of Health, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, underscored the critical importance of investing in TB control for Uganda’s overall development. 

She emphasised the urgent need to identify and treat all TB patients within the next five years to achieve the 2030 eradication target.

Rankings 

Uganda ranks among the world’s 30 high-burden countries for TB and TB/HIV co-infection, with approximately 91,000 new TB cases annually.

Of these, 32% are HIV-infected, while 2% develop drug-resistant TB that does not respond to first-line treatments. 

Additionally, 15% of TB cases occur in children under 14. In an earlier report, Dr Stavia Turyahabwe, the assistant commissioner for tuberculosis and leprosy control at the Ministry of Health, urged authorities to strengthen contact tracing by benchmarking Ebola and COVID-19 response strategies to improve detection rates.