Additional Context: This information was collected as part of The Aid Report’s original reporting, “Uganda’s TB gains face new pressure without US-funded outreach programs.” This feature story examines how U.S. aid cuts are weakening the outreach systems that helped the country make major gains against tuberculosis, even as new AI-powered screening technologies expand access to diagnosis.

This quote is attributed to Priscilla Ajambo, community coordinator with the AIDS Support Organisation, or TASO. Ajambo is commenting on the loss of active case finding capabilities following the withdrawal of U.S. funding. For example, funding cuts to an organization like hers meant they were forced to lay off a number of motorcycle riders who were the backbone of Uganda's diagnosis capabilities, transporting samples from smaller clinics to centralized laboratories for testing. Uganda remains one of the world’s 30 highest TB burden countries, diagnosing roughly 86,000 cases annually. Health officials estimate the true number of cases is closer to 100,000, leaving thousands of infections undetected each year.

Devex Researcher Note: The effects on active case finding efforts in Uganda were previously documented by The Aid Report. Without sustained funding from the U.S., the March 2025 round of a campaign conducting door-to-door screening, which had reached 1.2 million people previously, did not take place. This helps to explain a 14% reduction in tuberculosis case notifications during the first half of the year.

Source: Devex