THE Italian Government Directorate General for Cooperation and Development has approved 380,000 euros (about sh8.24b) to support the 'STOP TB Programme.

'This is part of the 3m euros World Health Organisation (WHO) initiative for Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia.

"Nine of the 20 countries that accounted for 80% of the TB cases worldwide are in Africa. Most TB patients are also infected with HIV/Aids," reads a statement from the Italian directorate.

The health programme coordinator at the Italian cooperation, Guiseppe Braghieri, said the Italian government was committed to boosting the private health sector in Uganda.

In 2006, the WHO, together with member states of the global STOP TB partnership, launched a strategy to enable HIV patients access treatment from public or private providers.