The first years of the new millennium have seen a significant rise in the interest of donor countries towards the fight against some of the most deadly and disabling diseases in low income countries, as they have been acknowledged to be a major obstacle towards the achievement of poverty eradication. This revived interest, sustained by the availability of highly cost/effective interventions, has materialized in a number of joint initiatives, the most important of them being the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and malaria (GFATM).

Uganda is one of the beneficiaries of the GFATM, currently receiving financial support to tackle the three diseases. It is assumed that the commitment of donors will continue unabated for a number of years, thus assuring sustainability to countries’ effort in their struggle against the diseases. However, one major constraint on the way to disease control in Uganda and in other developing countries is the critical shortage of qualified human resources, often coupled with inappropriate deployment of staff. Inability to secure adequate qualified personnel in key positions of TB control programmes is seriously jeopardizing the chances of achieving the WHO targets.

A special emergency initiative called Intensified Support and Action Countries (ISAC) has been purposely developed within the Global Plan to Stop TB1 with the goal to boost TB control programmes and help them achieve the 2005 targets by provision of additional human resources for targeted interventions. Uganda is included among 8 countries selected for the first phase of ISAC and the government of Uganda has officially expressed interest and commitment to participate in it.