Originally shared on Facebook, May 20, 2020.
Two years ago, I visited a lab in Butabika after a friend working there asked me to take a look at a machine they were using to test for Tuberculosis. The machine—called GeneXpert—was reliable, but there was one big challenge: results weren’t getting back to patients fast enough. They wondered if it could be connected to the internet so it could be monitored remotely.
At the time, Uganda already had more than 250 GeneXpert machines. Over 30% were concentrated in the central region. Some districts didn’t have even one. On average, it took about a week from the time a sample was collected to when results reached the patient. That was the average—some people, especially in remote areas, waited up to a month.
The TB programme wanted to reduce this delay. That same year, more than 40,000 people fell ill with TB in Uganda. Nearly 12,000 of them died. A 25% mortality rate. We couldn’t look away.
Two weeks later, we had a basic prototype. The Ministry of Health gave us the green light to pilot the solution in the central region.
Over the next two years, we worked closely with the National TB Reference Laboratory (NTRL) and the national TB programme to turn the prototype into a reliable system. Progress was slow. There were setbacks. But we stayed the course—and I’m glad we did.
Because today, that same solution is helping reduce turnaround times for COVID-19 test results as well.
Even though a GeneXpert machine can process a COVID-19 test in 45 minutes (and a TB test in 120), those numbers don’t mean much when samples travel long distances, labs are overloaded, and results are sent back by motorcycle. In the meantime, patients may continue unknowingly spreading the disease in their communities.
Faster results could help stop that. Faster results could save lives.
Last Saturday, I was at the testing site in Mutukula, seeing the system in action.
It’s been a quiet, steady grind—but it’s working. And I’m hopeful. 🤞🤞
