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LIRA

The health ministry is set to distribute mobile TB clinic vans to high TB burden regions in the country.

Health minister Dr Jane Ruth Aceng says the move is to support the Government of Uganda’s intervention of ending TB by 2030.

According to her, Uganda is one of the 30 countries with a high burden for TB: “We cannot and get resigned to the fact that we have a high burden of TB and we don’t act”.

“In addition, Lango sub region is one of the areas where we have a very high burden of the TB, that is why we started with the three regions, Lango, Ankole and Bugisu,” Aceng says.

She adds that establishing the mobile TB clinic in the regions of Uganda is aimed at supporting the activities of the community awareness sensitisation and testing (CAST TB).

In Lira, the health ministry commissioned the facility at Lira City Mayor’s Garden and handed it over to Lira Regional Referral Hospital by Aceng on Friday, February 2, 2024. 

Community members seeking treatment lined to get services in the Mobile TB clinic van recently.

The facility will be moving around Lango and other parts of northern Uganda door-to-door, identify people and test them.

According to Aceng, the people who will be found to be TB-positive will be treated.

The same state-of-the art facility, which has an X-ray that uses artificial intelligence, was given to Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital to support the communities of Ankole and Mbale Hospital to serve Bugisu, according to Aceng.

 “All have been charged with activities to ensure that we test the community members,” she said.

Dr Turyahabwe Stavia, the assistant commissioner health services at the health ministry, asked the hospital managements to take good care and make the best use of the equipment to meet the intended need of ending TB.

Lira Regional Referral Hospital Principal hospital administrator Peter Okello Odeke welcomed the move by the health ministry saying the facility is necessary for the community and that it will solve the problem of the community members travelling long distances to get such services.