Africa-Press – Uganda. The Minister of Health, Ms Jane Ruth Aceng, has said Community Awareness Screening Testing and Treatment (CAST-TB) at health facilities will help curb the spread of Tuberculosis (TB).
“We have got reduced infection rates of about 2.7 per cent this year, which is good news, however, we still have a high burden of TB cases that we must respond to. The ministry has developed two strategies, the CAST-TB strategy wherein every six months the village health teams move door to door and engage the families and screen them for TB,” she said.
Ms Aceng made the remarks during the launch of the CAST-TB campaign at the 4th National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Annual Stakeholders’ Conference held in Entebbe on Thursday.
“The CAST-TB strategy has been rolled out throughout the entire country and will help us detect cases that are within the community and may not be detected unless they come to the facilities,” she said.
Ms Aceng said the ministry’s second strategy is to enhance TB screening for all people who visit health facilities with any illness.
“When you come with Malaria, pneumonia, HIV or any other illness you’re also screened for TB. It will help us detect silent tuberculosis amongst the people who come to the facilities. We are hopeful that these strategies will help us to run the race against TB by 2030,” she said.
Ms Aceng said the implementation of the national Tuberculosis – leprosy plan that runs from 2021 to 2025 is aimed at reducing the Tuberculosis incidence by 20 per cent and leprosy cases among children from 8 per cent to less than 3 per cent.
The Director-General Health Services at the Ministry of Health, Mr Henry Mwebesa, said there is a need for heightened surveillance for both TB and leprosy across the country.
“Although the country realized a drop in TB cases (2.7%) and mortality (35%) as per global TB report, we remain among high TB and TB/HIV burden countries. We are still considered a low burden country for leprosy although we are surrounded by high burden countries like South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Tanzania” he said.
The executive director Uganda Stop TB Partnership (USTP) Mr Paul Isiko said there is a need to fight stigma against TB which remains a disease of poverty and economic distress.
“Vulnerability, marginalisation, stigma, and discrimination are often faced by people affected by TB. Actions are needed now more than before to move towards a gender-responsive approach with clear guidance to the communities on how to implement those actions,” he said.
Mr Isiko said TB screening should be done at every service point both in the public and private sectors.
The country director Centre for Disease Control (CDC) Ms Lisa Nelson said TB has been neglected for too long and remains underfunded.
“I want to reassure you that as the US government team, we are all in this effort for Tuberculosis. Tuberculosis remains the leading cause of death worldwide from a single infectious agent. In 2021, tuberculosis caused 1.5 million deaths worldwide including 214,000 deaths among people living with HIV,” she said
Ms Nelson said disruptions caused by Covid 19 pandemic have had a major impact on access and delivery of TB diagnostic and treatment services.
[email protected]
For More News And Analysis About Uganda Follow Africa-Press
