1500 Ugandans live with drug-resistant Tuberculosis {TB} and the Ministry of Health can only truck 500 people in the hospitals leaving over 1000 patients spreading the disease in communities.
This has been revealed by the assistant commissioner National TB and Leprosy control service Dr. Stevia Turyahabwe at the Ministry while launching TB Marathon Run scheduled for Sunday this week.
Dr. Turyahabwe said that this has called for the need by the Ministry of Health to build a drug-resistant TB ward at Iganga District Hospital which can accommodate a number of 16 men, women, and children valued at a tune of 1 billion Uganda shillings in partnership with other funders like USAID.
Extensively drug-resistant TB is a type of Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis that does not respond to second-line medication like Isoniazid and Rifampicin or fluoroquinolone.
Dr. Phyellister Nakamya the executive director for the program for accessible health communication and education said that 30 Ugandans die of Tuberculosis (TB) every day which calls for other health-related organizations to fight TB together with the ministry of health.
Dr. Nakamya also said that the areas that are prone to TB are the congested areas putting Kampala and Wakiso at a forefront of having people infected with TB as well as the Karamoja region because of the poor structure of houses that do not allow proper ventilation.
Dr. Paddy Busuulwa the technical advisor of the Uganda Stop TB partnership said that the fight against TB can’t be left to the Ministry of health alone calling on all Ugandans and stakeholders to come up in the fight against TB in the country.
In this regard, the Ministry has organized a marathon on Sunday to solicit funds to build the drug-resistant TB ward in Iganga district hospital as part of the activities to mark the World TB day that will be celebrated on the 24th of March in Moroto.
