A patient in Uganda’s Kajjansi health centre clinic becomes the first to enroll in the INTE-AFRICA project.
March 19 2020 marked the beginning of patient enrolment for the INTE-AFRICA project. Despite these uncertain times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers from the INTE-AFRICA project in Uganda were able to enroll the first eight patients for our large cluster randomized control trial studying the feasibility of integrating diabetes, hypertension, and HIV services in Tanzania and Uganda. However, the country has now gone into a nationwide 4-week lockdown and therefore these patients will be re-engaged with the project when it is safe to do so. Plans are still in place to start enrolment in Tanzania but this is being reviewed on a daily basis in light of COVID-19.
African partners have been monitoring the situation closely in both countries and are in constant communication to ensure the safety of patients, healthcare workers, and research staff on the ground.