By. Damba Rogers
ABBOTT a world renown pharmaceutical manufacturer is donate fast class and modern lab equipment to help in early detection of malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS.
According to the health minister, Jane Ruth Aceng, in a Meeting held today at the ministry with officials from ABBOTT, the minister states that, the efforts are aimed at reinforcing efforts towards strengthening laboratory services towards achieving the 90.90.90 goals by 2020 and the long term goal of eradicating HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and malaria in the country.
Aceng adds that laboratory works in the country are grateful to the government of Uganda for recognizing the importance of laboratory services by elevating the sub-sector from a unit to a fully-fledged department with the mandate to coordinate and oversee integrated health laboratory diagnostic service delivery.
Meanwhile, Dr. Turyahebwa Stavia, the assistant commissioner, TB and Leprosy division, the current 259 gene expert machines being used to carry out TB test and the RDT malaria test kits take long to detect the disease, yet the yet to be donated machines, they will be providing very fast result in a very short period of time after the tests have been carried out.
She also confirms that the prevalence of TB in Uganda is at 253 per 100,000 populations with 80,000 new TB cases occurring every year and 56% of the cases seen by medical doctors leaving out over 40% of the case in the communities un attended to.
The support towards establishment and strengthening of specialized reference laboratories for HIV, TB, Malaria, Hepatitis and other communicable and non communicable diseases to further strengthen diagnostic capacities for responding to these epidemics.
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