Uganda’s fight against HIV gets a boost with WondFo Biotech Company Limited’s nationwide trainings

Nationwide HIV self-testing trainings, courtesy of WondFo Biotech Company Limited, have marked a significant step forward in the fight against HIV in Uganda.

The recently concluded nationwide HIV self-testing (HIVST) trainings, led by the Ministry of Health and the Central Public Health Laboratories, were made possible through the generous support of Wondfo Biotech Company Limited.

What is Wondfo Biotech Company Limited?

It is a leading global manufacturer of Invitro diagnostics for infectious and non-infectious diseases, including HIV, Malaria, Diabetes, and TB.

The initiative is aimed at addressing critical challenges that have hindered the optimal rollout of HIV self-testing in Uganda, ensuring that more people can access convenient, discreet, accurate, and reliable HIV testing services.

HIV Self-testing: A game-changing method

HIV self-testing is a game-changing approach that allows individuals, especially those at higher risk, to test themselves privately.

This method is particularly crucial for reaching people such as sex workers, adolescents, and others who may face stigma or barriers in accessing traditional health facilities.

However, despite its potential, several challenges have slowed down progress, such as limited awareness among the public and health workers, and a general lack of visibility into the availability of quality approved HIV self-tests in the country.

The Ministry of Health has identified several challenges that have limited HIV Self-Testing Implementation in Uganda.

These obstacles include poor documentation and underreporting of HIVST results, low utilization of blood-based kits due to limited awareness, stockouts and supply chain gaps, inadequate training for healthcare workers, and weak monitoring and evaluation systems.

These challenges have hindered the effectiveness of HIV self-testing programs, making it difficult to assess their true impact on testing coverage and ultimately, limiting their potential to contribute to Uganda’s response to the HIV epidemic.

To address these challenges, the MoH, in collaboration with the Central Public Health Laboratory (CPHL) and Wondfo, organized comprehensive training sessions for healthcare workers across the country.

The training focused on improving data recording and reporting, ensuring more accurate HIV self-testing statistics.

Healthcare workers gained increased awareness of the proper use of both oral and blood-based HIV Self-Test kits, which will help boost the utilization of blood-based kits. The training also strengthened supply chain management, reducing the likelihood of stockouts, and hence will enhance monitoring and evaluation systems, allowing for better tracking of HIV self-testing performance.

Through these efforts, the partnerships between the government, the private sector, and local NGOs were fostered, enabling a more coordinated approach to scaling up HIVST and ultimately improving the country’s response to the HIV epidemic.

Where were the trainings held?   

The sessions took place in high-priority regions, including Kayunga, Buikwe, Mbale, Karamoja, and Gulu, targeting nurses, lab technicians, counselors, and district health officers.  

The training received overwhelmingly positive feedback from healthcare workers, who expressed enthusiasm about the new knowledge and skills gained.

Dr. Jane Nabakooza, a clinician from Bbaale HCIV, noted that the training filled critical knowledge gaps, particularly in documenting HIVST results. She emphasized that proper reporting is crucial for national HIV tracking.

Robert Ssemakula, a lab technician from Nazigo, added that the training equipped staff to effectively promote all types of HIVST kits, including blood-based kits, which were previously underutilized due to a lack of awareness. 

Wondfo has played a crucial role in strengthening Uganda’s HIV response by providing high-quality, WHO-prequalified, and MoH-approved test kits. Through investing in local manufacturing, Wondfo has ensured long-term sustainability and affordability of HIV Self-Test kits in Uganda.

Beyond supplying diagnostics, Wondfo’s partnership has contributed significantly to the country’s efforts to scale up HIV Self-Testing, ultimately enhancing the national response to the HIV epidemic.

Wondfo’s affordable and accessible pricing of one-dollar ($1)HIVST initiative is revolutionizing HIV testing in Uganda by making self-testing kits more affordable, and hence, government and development partners can buy more quantities within the available limited resources.

This initiative is also expected to significantly increase access to HIV testing for high-risk populations and low-income communities, aligning with Uganda’s goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

As a Wondfo representative emphasized, “Affordability should never be a barrier to HIV testing,” highlighting the organization’s commitment to making testing accessible to all who need to know their HIV status and ensuring that no one is left behind in accessing HIV testing.

The recent HIV Self-testing trainings mark a major milestone in Uganda’s HIV response, addressing systemic challenges and empowering healthcare workers to ensure that more people can access testing, know their status, and seek treatment if needed.

By building on this momentum, the Ministry of Health and Wondfo are poised to make significant strides in Uganda’s efforts to combat HIV and achieve its ambitious goals for the future.

To build on the momentum of HIV self-testing in Uganda, Wondfo will continue to work with the government by expanding training to more regions, including rural and hard-to-reach areas, to ensure equitable access to testing services.

Strengthening partnerships with NGOs and community organizations will also be crucial in increasing HIV self-testing distribution and reaching high-risk populations.

Additionally, monitoring progress through improved monitoring and evaluation systems will enable accurate measurement of the impact of HIV self-testing on Uganda’s epidemic control efforts.

With Wondfo’s generous pricing offer to the government of $1, Uganda is poised to significantly scale up HIV testing and achieve the national HIV goals.

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