As part of ongoing efforts to combat Mpox in Uganda, the United States Mission in Uganda, through its public health agency, the U.S. Centres for Disease Control (CDC), has donated an additional 5,000 laboratory test kits and critical consumables valued at approximately US$265,000 (Shs1bn).
The donation is intended to strengthen Uganda’s Mpox diagnostic capacity. The consignment, which includes essential extraction kits and PCR-based primers/probes, was officially handed over by the U.S.
Ambassador, William Popp, to the Minister of Health, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng, at the Ministry of Health headquarters. This latest support aims to bolster Uganda’s ability to detect and respond to Mpox cases swiftly and effectively.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, Amb. Popp emphasized the U.S.
government’s commitment to assisting Uganda in managing public health challenges, including Mpox. Dr. Aceng expressed gratitude for the support, underscoring the importance of collaborative efforts in safeguarding public health.
The testing kits are expected to be distributed between Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) and Uganda National Health Laboratory Services (UNHLS), Uganda’s primary testing facilities in the Mpox response. The latest donation by the U.S Mission in Uganda brings to 10,000 test kits donated by the U.
S. CDC since the outbreak started. This is also in addition to the over US$4 million (over Shs 14bn) the U.
S. government has extended to Uganda since August to Uganda in its re.