By Andrew Irumba
Kampala: The government of Uganda has through the ministry of health unveiled new plans to combat Hepatitis C.
One of the ways of fighting this killer disease is that Ugandans have been urged to test for hepatitis C, since the disease is equally as dangerous as other infectious diseases, according to Health Minister Jane Ruth Aceng.
As Uganda joined the rest of the world to mark world hepatitis day, the Minister said soon the government in their plan to completely eliminate the viral infection, will start campaigns to call upon people to test and know their status. She also said that those who test positive will be linked to health care.
However, Patients and Persons Living with Hepatitis activist Kenneth Kabagambe had earlier on Sunday said that while government is putting emphasis on screening, there is little being done in terms of making it possible to access treatment. He is worried that there is limited funding for hepatitis yet it’s worse than HIV which has over the years been the target for funding.
Responding to the issue of treatment, Dr. Charles Olaro, the Director Clinical Services at the Ministry of Health said that unlike HIV where if tested positive one has to be enrolled on treatment immediately, for hepatitis, not everyone needs treatment even when they test positive.
He however noted that they are planning to introduce a programme through which those that require treatment will be immediately linked to care. Initially he said they will first capture women who are seeking antenatal who will compulsorily be tested for both Hepatitis B and C.
Currently, they are testing adolescents in high risk areas of Eastern Uganda for hepatitis B. Dr. Jackson Amone, the Commissioner Curative Services at Ministry of Health says they started off with Northern and West Nile region.
