The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation has been awarded $38 million by USAID to be spent over the next five years to provide integrated tuberculosis (TB) and HIV/AIDS services in the south west region of Uganda.

Under program Strengthening TB and HIV/AIDS Response (STAR-SW), the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation has partnered with USAID and Ministry of Health in Uganda to cover nine districts where there is “considerable unmet need and low coverage for these services.”

According to a statement from the Foundation, the program seeks to support health service delivery at the district level “with the goal of increasing use, access, and coverage of high-quality, comprehensive TB, HIV/AIDS, and nutrition services in this region.”

The Foundation and USAIDS  have been involved in projects that have reached than 2 million women with services for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in the country.
“This award will enable us to continue working collaboratively with key partners to reach far greater numbers of women, children, and families in need,” said Charles Lyons, president and CEO of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

The funds will benefit the districts of Ntungamo, Kiruhura, Kisoro, Rukungiri, Bushenyi, Kanungu, Isingiro, Ibanda, and Kabale.
“Our approach will strategically focus on the family, using cross-cutting interventions to strengthen the overall health system and support the Ugandan Ministry of Health in continuously improving the quality of services,” said Edward Bitarakwate, Country Director in Uganda for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. “We will also work with other partners to build strong linkages and referral networks to ensure that there is a continuity of services between health facilities and the community.”

The program will complement already existing efforts from among others Mulago-Mbarara Teaching Hospitals’ Joint AIDS Program, JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc., Uganda Health Marketing Group, and Mayanja Memorial Hospital Foundation, to plan and implement this life-saving program.

By Rosebell Kagumire

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