Uganda launches portable HIV testing technology for rural areas

The Ugandan Ministry of Health has launched the m-PIMA analyser, a portable point-of-care diagnostic machine, to expand HIV testing and monitoring in rural and underserved areas. Launched in Butabika by Minister of State for Health Hanifa Kawooya, the WHO-prequalified technology delivers molecular HIV-1/2 and viral-load results in under 60 minutes. Developed in partnership with Abbott, the device aims to reduce patient travel times and accelerate treatment initiation, particularly for early infant diagnosis.

m-PIMA portable HIV testing launch

• ▪The Uganda Ministry of Health launched the m-PIMA analyser, a portable point-of-care diagnostic machine, in Butabika to expand HIV testing and monitoring
• ▪The m-PIMA analyser is a portable molecular testing platform designed to deliver molecular HIV test results in less than 60 minutes

Point-of-care diagnostic decentralization strategy

• ▪Uganda's Ministry of Health is decentralizing HIV testing and monitoring services to reduce travel distances and wait times for patients in underserved communities
• ▪Uganda has previously deployed m-PIMA analysers alongside other point-of-care platforms to improve early infant HIV diagnosis and decentralize viral-load testing

Development partner collaboration

• ▪Uganda's Minister of State for Health, Hanifa Kawooya, stated that the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the importance of partnerships in strengthening health systems
• ▪Uganda's Minister of State for Health, Hanifa Kawooya, commended the partnership between the Ugandan government and development partners, including Abbott, in expanding laboratory services

Early infant HIV diagnosis

• ▪Studies of Uganda's experience with point-of-care testing found that the approach shortens the time between sample collection, receipt of results, and treatment initiation
• ▪The m-PIMA HIV-1/2 Detect test provides molecular HIV results in less than an hour, reducing delays in diagnosing HIV among infants

Viral load testing improvements

• ▪The m-PIMA analyser supports viral-load testing at the point of care to enable health workers to make treatment decisions during the same visit
• ▪The m-PIMA analyser is WHO-prequalified for molecular HIV testing, including HIV-1/2 detection and viral-load monitoring

Rural health service access

• ▪Health workers from regional referral hospitals participated in the m-PIMA programme to demonstrate the impact of the technology on service delivery
• ▪Uganda's Minister of State for Health, Hanifa Kawooya, stated that quality diagnostic services improve clinical care across the population in Uganda

Debatable claims

• ▪Developing nations should prioritize decentralized point-of-care testing over centralized laboratories
• ▪Uganda should rely on multinational corporations to expand its healthcare diagnostics