US donation boosts Uganda’s battle against tuberculosis

The United States government has provided an assortment of advanced diagnostic tools to bolster screening of tuberculosis (TB) in 68 high-burden districts in Uganda.

TB is one of the world's deadliest infectious killers, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

It is particularly a growing challenge in Uganda, with the UN health agency saying that each day close to 240 people fall ill with TB and approximately 30 lose their lives.

Health ministry figures indicate that Uganda registers approximately 96,000 TB cases each year.

The US government's latest intervention will have been seen as a boost to Uganda's efforts against the disease.

The donation, which includes 48 portable digital X-ray machines and 33 TB Loop-mediated isothermal amplifications (LAMPs), was formally received on May 14 in Kampala by health minister Dr Jane Ruth Aceng.

Also part of the package, 33 motorised cargo tricycles to aid in the transportation of the equipment to hard-to-reach communities will be delivered in the coming weeks. 
The items were delivered through the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Through the agency, the US has supported Uganda for more than six decades in various areas.

Aceng said "these very generous donations" will "enhance our efforts to end TB by 2030".

She said the digital X-ray machines, besides detecting TB, would also be used to diagnose other respiratory illnesses and health conditions requiring imaging.

TB-LAMPs are expected to replace traditional microscopes in diagnosing TB, especially among adults presenting with symptoms of the disease. 

They offer a more sensitive and quicker alternative to conventional diagnostic methods.
Speaking during the handover, US Ambassador William Popp reaffirmed the US’s continued commitment to Uganda’s health sector, despite broader shifts in American foreign aid policy.

“While the United States government's development assistance in Uganda will not be the same without USAID, we will continue partnering with our colleagues in the Ugandan government, such as the Ministry of Health, and other partners,” he said.

'Vital work'

USAID is undergoing a structural transition in Uganda, during which its programmes and responsibilities are being handed over to the US Department of State, in line with recent executive orders from the US government under Trump II.

“We will work together to provide life-saving and humanitarian services, including critical medicines and supplies and support for ending HIV, TB, malaria, and improving maternal and child health," said Popp.

"And we will continue our vital work to prevent, detect, and contain infectious diseases."
The ambassador also said the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), through the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), will deliver the motorised cargo tricycles to help transport X-ray equipment and support a range of community-based health interventions.

These are seen as timely interventions.

Although TB is a preventable and curable disease, Uganda is one of the world's 30 high-burden countries for TB and TB/HIV co-infection, according to WHO.

Tens of thousands of people get infected every year in the East African nation, with 36 percent of them being HIV-infected.

More than half of TB-related deaths in the country are among people living with HIV.

Two out of every 100 people with TB have drug-resistant TB that is not cured by first-line drugs, while approximately 15 percent of TB cases in Uganda are children aged below 14 years.