UGANDA | UZBEKISTAN
UGANDA
No. staff in 2015: 309 | Expenditure: d5.4 million | Year MSF first worked in the country: 1986 | msf.org/uganda
At the end of 2015, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) opened a new project in Kasese district, southwest Uganda. This project focused on access to healthcare for adolescents and the fishing communities on lakes George and Edward. Both groups are particularly vulnerable to HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Activities are run in complete integration with the public health system. KEY MEDICAL FIGURES:
49,500
outpatient consultations
33,400
patients treated for malaria
HIV care Since 2013, MSF has supported the HIV laboratory in Arua district, and has introduced devices to measure CD4 and viral load as part of a UNITAID-funded project. In 2015, MSF started offering early infant diagnosis to test babies born to HIV-positive mothers so that they can start antiretroviral (ARV) treatment as quickly as possible, if necessary. MSF is also supporting genotyping tests, which identify resistance to second-line ARVs.
Response to a malaria outbreak MSF conducted an epidemiological assessment in Kole, Apach and Oyam districts, and at the request of the Ministry of Health, donated more than 81,000 treatments for malaria and supported case management in health centres in two districts and a hospital in Kole. Teams also ran mobile clinics and referred patients to Lira regional hospital when required. Over five months, 63,000 patients with malaria were treated in the districts supported by MSF.
Project handovers In July, MSF handed over the outpatient, inpatient and maternity care services it had been providing for South Sudanese refugees in Adjumani district since January 2014 to Medical Teams International. Between January and July, more than 48,600 consultations were carried out, and 574 patients were admitted to hospital.
UZBEKISTAN
No. staff in 2015: 214 | Expenditure: d7.8 million | Year MSF first worked in the country: 1997 | msf.org/uzbekistan
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is currently implementing and evaluating a shorter treatment regimen for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in Uzbekistan, lasting nine months instead of the usual two years.
KEY MEDICAL FIGURES:
2,500
patients under treatment for
TB, of which
400
650
for MDR-TB
patients on first-line ARV treatment
The medical outcomes from this shorter regimen will be published in 2016. MSF also hopes to start a clinical trial in the country in 2016, combining the first new TB drugs available in over 50 years with existing drugs to treat drug-resistant forms of the disease. Both of these initiatives reflect MSF’s drive to develop shorter, more effective and more tolerable treatment regimens for people suffering from TB.
TB programme in Karakalpakstan In the Autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan, MSF continues to run the long-standing ‘comprehensive TB care for all’ project with the regional and central health ministries. This project provides access to outpatient care, rapid diagnostic tests and a comprehensive support programme, including education, psychosocial support,
and food packages for those on low income or suffering weight loss. The goal is to ensure patients’ adherence to treatment and to help them manage the sometimes severe side effects of their medication, and to prevent the spread of the disease.
HIV treatment in Tashkent In the capital, Tashkent, MSF supports the Tashkent City AIDS Centre to increase access to diagnosis and treatment for people living with the disease. In 2015, the team started over 700 patients on antiretroviral treatment, and offered counselling and screening for opportunistic infections (infections that occur more frequently and are more severe in individuals with weakened immune systems. In 2016, the project will begin treating patients who are co-infected with hepatitis C.
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