Ugandans will no longer have to wait 17 days before they get their test results for TB after the National Tuberculosis Laboratory (NTRL) in Wandegeya, was awarded a certificate of membership to the Supranational Laboratory (SRL) Network.

This was revealed by the minister of Health, Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, on July 11, at the launch of the NTRL into a Supranational Laboratory. Uganda is the second African country, after South Africa, to be awarded such status. With this, a patient will only wait for 24 to 48 hours for the results.

According to Dr Frank Mugabe, Programme Manager of the National TB and Leprosy Programme (NTLP), 50,000 people in Uganda are diagnosed with ordinary TB each year, while 100 people are diagnosed with drug-resistant TB and five per cent of those diagnosed with ordinary TB, die.

Late presentation is a major cause of deaths, and efficient, early diagnosis is billed to ensure timely treatment and reduced mortality.

To be awarded supranational status, Uganda competed with 45 other countries and after the ministry of Health showed strong commitment towards creating and maintaining the laboratory, among other factors.