Uganda Receives Sh2.2b To Treat Tuberculosis

Sep 20, 2002

Uganda has received Euros 1.3m (about sh2.2b) to support tuberculosis treatment in communities.

By Lillian Nalumansi
Uganda has received Euros 1.3m (about sh2.2b) to support tuberculosis treatment in communities.
The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) offered the grant to Uganda because it is one of the 22 high-burden TB countries in the world.
The offer came through the World Health Organisation (WHO) offices in Uganda.
Uganda TB consultant, Dr. Giuliano Gargioni, said 35,000 new cases of TB were diagnosed in Uganda last year and half of them were HIV/AIDS- positive.
“TB is the leading cause of death in HIV/AIDS- infected individuals in Uganda. With this grant, patients will be treated at home, with the support of their communities, instead of having to bear the social and economic burdens that come with lengthy hospitalisation,” Gargioni told a press conference at the WHO Uganda offices at the East African Development Bank building on Nile Avenue, Kampala.
“We will not only improve the health of the infected people, but the general health of the people in those districts where the systems are going to be set up,” Gargioni said.
The WHO country representative in Uganda, Mr. Oladapo Walker, said the funds would be used to buy laboratory equipment and microscopes, train health staff, and strengthen the quality of care for TB patients at district level.
“It has been discovered world-wide that 50% of the HIV/AIDS patients have tuberculosis and its treatment requires a lot of resources. Uganda was given high consideration for the funds mainly because it is one of the 22 high-burden TB countries in the world,” Oladapo said.
“Another reason for choosing Uganda was that the country is implementing an effective and innovative strategy of TB control in the context of Primary Health Care Uganda. This grant will allow us buy anti-tuberculosis drugs, microscopes and laboratory equipment at district level,” Oladapo said.
The IUATLD executive director, Dr. Nils Billo, said in a statement that one of the grant conditions was “to provide critical support to Uganda’s National TB and Leprosy Programme so that it can effectively produce additional detection and treatment of TB cases.”
The IUATLD Uganda office deputy executive director Dr. Paula Fujiwara, attended. Ends

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