\u201cYes! We can end tuberculosis!\u201d The slogan for World TB Day 2026 is not just a message of hope\u2014it is a concrete commitment that we carry forward in the 9 Sub-Saharan African countries where we operate. Every day, through their work and dedication our team on the ground shape this message translating it into act of care to ensure that every person has the right to a healthy future.<\/p>\n
Although tuberculosis is now a treatable and curable disease<\/strong>, the latest Global TB Report from the World Health Organization confirms that Africa still bears 25% of the global burden<\/strong> of this epidemic. In Uganda in particular, the challenge is a delicate balance between technological progress and social barriers: according to the most recent data from the Ugandan Ministry of Health, incidence remains high at around 200 cases per 100,000 people<\/strong>. TB continues to be the leading cause of death among people living with HIV and one of the main threats in the country\u2019s most vulnerable areas, such as the Karamoja region.<\/p>\n Today, the real challenge in Uganda\u2014as in many other contexts\u2014is not faced only in healthcare facilities but in the most isolated villages. Although the treatment success rate monitored by the National TB and Leprosy Programme has reached a record high of 90%, a dangerous gap remains<\/strong>: 20% of people with Tb remain undiagnosed.<\/p>\n These are the \u201cmissing millions\u201d<\/strong>\u2014people living with symptoms without knowing they are contagious, unintentionally fueling transmission. To identify them, CUAMM, in line with the WHO\u2019s \u201cEnd TB\u201d strategy, has chosen a multi-level approach aiming at intervening at every level of the health system, promoting the strengthening and expansion of prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up services, with particular attention to drug-resistant TB. Specifically, in the Napak and Moroto districts of the Karamoja region, CUAMM is implementing, together with local health authorities, the \u201cPRO-TB: Strengthening the Organized Network for Tuberculosis in Karamoja\u201d<\/strong> project, supported by the Charitable Fund and social and cultural initiatives of Intesa Sanpaolo.<\/p>\n Today our Tb response efforts in Uganda have the name of Lokoth Joseph Akorikibok, 39 from Kotido district. For months, he suffered from a relentless cough that stole his voice, appetite, and slowly, his hope.<\/p>\n \u201cI coughed for so long that I almost lost my voice,\u201d Joseph recalls. \u201cI was terrified. I kept thinking about death and what would happen to my wife and children if I weren\u2019t there.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Like many living in remote areas, Joseph initially sought help wherever he could: small pharmacies, taking medicines that had no effect. \u201cNo improvement. I knew it was only a matter of days before I would die.\u201d<\/p>\n The turning point came at Losilang HC II health center. When asked for a sputum sample for testing, Joseph was about to give up: \u201cI had lost all hope; I didn\u2019t even want to take the test. But then I found the energy to do it, and it was the decision that changed my life.\u201d<\/p>\n The diagnosis was one of the most difficult: MDR-TB, drug-resistant tuberculosis<\/strong>. With support from CUAMM and Matany Hospital, an ambulance was sent to bring Joseph to Matany, where he began a strict treatment protocol.<\/p>\n \u201cCUAMM and the Matany team saved me. They gave me the right medicines, but not only that. I want to thank them for the food they provided in the hospital: without it, the medicines would have been too strong for my body. The food made the treatment possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Today, Joseph has returned home. His condition has improved, his weight has increased, and above all, he has regained his determination.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery day, exactly at 10:00 a.m., I take my medicine. I don\u2019t skip a minute, I don\u2019t skip a day.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Joseph’s story is a tangible proof that healing is possible<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cIkilakara aiyiun lojokotau nooi\u201d<\/strong>\u2014a heartfelt thank you to all the good people who supported me. In his language, this gratitude captures the essence of our work. He also offers an \u201cappeal\u201d to his community:<\/p>\n \u201cStop taking medicines without knowing what you are doing. Go to the hospital, get tested. My life improved because I trusted medicine and the healthcare workers.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On World Tuberculosis Day, the story of Lokoth Joseph Akorikibok, a 39-year-old Ugandan diagnosed with drug-resistant tuberculosis, reminds us that timely diagnosis must be accessible to all and that TB treatment can save lives.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":72088,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1172,2493],"tags":[997,1313,2629],"argomenti":[2628],"protagonisti":[],"luoghi":[2498,2662,2860],"class_list":["post-89722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-homenews","tag-uganda","tag-tb-2","tag-tuberculosis","argomenti-tuberculosis","luoghi-uganda","luoghi-karamoja","luoghi-matany"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/doctorswithafrica.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/doctorswithafrica.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/doctorswithafrica.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doctorswithafrica.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doctorswithafrica.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89722"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/doctorswithafrica.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89722\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doctorswithafrica.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/doctorswithafrica.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doctorswithafrica.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doctorswithafrica.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89722"},{"taxonomy":"argomenti","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doctorswithafrica.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/argomenti?post=89722"},{"taxonomy":"protagonisti","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doctorswithafrica.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/protagonisti?post=89722"},{"taxonomy":"luoghi","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doctorswithafrica.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/luoghi?post=89722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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