AFRICA/UGANDA - World Day against Tuberculosis: Covid-19 slows down the fight against the 'disease of poverty' but there are messages of hope

Wednesday, 24 March 2021

Moroto (Agenzia Fides) - In the year of Covid-19 in Uganda there are often problems related to the fight against viruses and infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, which is still one of the deadliest in the world today. In fact, 10 million people are ill in the world and 1.4 million deaths were registered in 2019 alone. 25% of new cases every year are in Africa and the arrival of the pandemic in the last year has put a strain on health systems on this continent.
"With Covid-19, we feared to see the work of years ruined forever - Simone Cadorin, project leader of Doctors with Africa CUAMM in Moroto, tells Agenzia Fides -. In fact, a year ago, the government blocked public transport, imposed a curfew, and banned travel. The fear was that people would no longer come to the hospital for monthly visits and to collect their medicines".
"In agreement with the local authorities - explains Cadorin - we have developed, in the midst of the emergency, a door-to-door assistance support for patients, visiting them and distributing medicines at home, in rural areas, with semi-nomadic populations. . Not only have we kept patients on treatment, but we have also greatly improved results, going from 36% of therapies successfully completed in 2019 to 85% in 2020 and bringing the dropout rate from 42% to 11%. In addition, in recent months the lockdown measures for Coronavirus in the country have been partially lifted and patients now come to health centers, but we continue to maintain contact with each of them through their 'village health teams', who follow patients at home, make sure they take their medications regularly and provide psychological help and social support to families and patients".
In Karamoja, CUAMM is carrying out two projects to fight TBC and, on the occasion of the World Day against Tuberculosis, which is celebrated today, 24 March, the organization has joined the appeal of the World Health Organization (WHO), according to which "Time is running out", if we want to put an end to Tuberculosis.
Furthermore, CUAMM is strongly committed to combating false news related to Covid-19 through training activities for health personnel and awareness-raising activities in villages in Uganda, as in the other seven countries where it is present. Many have stopped going to hospital for fear of being infected, with the result that many women risk their lives giving birth at home, and many children are not vaccinated against the most common diseases. The 'door-to-door' approach developed in Karamoja has shown instead that by talking to communities and listening to their needs and fears, it is possible to give continuity to projects and provide health care to those most in need. (LP/AP) (Agenzia Fides, 24/3/2021)


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