With the presence of the Minister of Health, César Vásquez, and other authorities of the sector, on September 28 we participated in a protocol ceremony to deliver 17 GeneXpert kits for reference laboratories and priority health facilities in Metropolitan Lima, regions and health facilities of the Armed Forces, National Police and National Penitentiary Institute of Peru.
These modern molecular biology kits enable early and simultaneous detection of tuberculosis (TB) and drug resistance. Drug-resistant TB represents one of the most severe forms of this disease, so the decentralization of the GeneXpert kits will contribute to providing timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment.
“It used to take a month between all the procedures for the diagnosis [of TB]; now, with this equipment it has been reduced to one hour and 15 minutes, which is an exponential leap and Peru is positioned as one of the leading countries in the Americas region in the fight against tuberculosis,” highlighted the Minister of Health.
Los equipos serán implementados en los laboratorios referenciales de las DIRIS de Lima y regiones priorizadas, así como en los hospitales de las FF. AA., PNP e INPE.
Foto de Alfonso Apaestegui
Also participating in the protocol ceremony were Dr. Leonid Lecca, general director of Socios En Salud (SES), Congresswoman Susel Paredes, the director of the TB Prevention and Control Directorate (DPCTB) of the Ministry of Health (MINSA), Valentina Alarcón, and Dr. Alberto Mendoza, coordinator of the HIV TB Country Project.
“We are part of this initiative helping MINSA, through the Country Project, to acquire this equipment that is part of the active search strategy they are carrying out. Now we were commenting on the challenges that still exist, but I think we are on the right track; we join this effort of MINSA to move forward in this dream of putting an end to TB,” commented Dr. Lecca.
The acquisition of this equipment was made possible within the framework of the HIV TB Country Project 2022 - 2025, financed by the Global Fund, coordinated by Minsa and the National Multisectoral Health Coordinator (CONAMUSA), and executed by Socios En Salud.
