KAMPALA — Uganda’s first in-vitro diagnostics manufacturer, Microhaem Scientifics (MHS), has renewed its commitment to strengthening malaria control efforts through locally produced testing solutions, as the country joined the 4th Parliamentary Malaria Walk to raise awareness on ending preventable deaths caused by the disease.
The walk, held on July 26, 2026, was led by Chief Walker Rt. Hon. Thomas Tayebwa, Deputy Speaker of Parliament, under the theme “Walk the Talk: End Malaria Now.”
Microhaem Scientifics participated as the lead sponsor of the annual event organised by the Uganda Parliamentary Forum on Malaria (UPFM) together with the Parliament of Uganda.
The company said the campaign focused on the need for accurate diagnosis, particularly among school-going children who continue to lose learning time due to malaria infections.
“You cannot beat a disease you cannot see,” was the message carried throughout the walk, highlighting the importance of testing in malaria prevention and treatment.
Uganda remains among the countries with a high malaria burden, with millions of cases recorded annually. The challenge has been compounded by emerging drug and insecticide resistance, as well as changes in malaria parasites that can affect the accuracy of some diagnostic tools.
The World Health Organisation recommends that suspected malaria cases should be confirmed through testing before treatment begins, as treating based only on symptoms can lead to missed malaria cases or unnecessary use of medicines.
Microhaem Scientifics says its locally manufactured malaria rapid diagnostic kits are designed to address some of the emerging challenges facing malaria detection.
The company’s Managing Director, Dr Cedric Akwesigye, said malaria control requires cooperation between government, communities, health workers and the private sector.
“The battle is not one ministry’s mandate—it is everyone’s role. That is why we, as Microhaem Scientifics, the leading local manufacturer of in-vitro diagnostics for high-burden diseases including malaria, join this collaboration through community engagement, ensuring that citizens have access to our quality malaria testing kits to eliminate late and wrong diagnosis,” Dr Akwesigye said.
Tackling Malaria Testing Challenges
One of the challenges in malaria diagnosis is the emergence of parasites with deleted pfhrp2/3 genes, which can cause some conventional rapid diagnostic tests that rely only on HRP2 detection to miss infections.
Microhaem Scientifics said its malaria diagnostic kits use a dual-target approach by detecting both HRP2 and pLDH markers, allowing identification of malaria strains that may not be detected by HRP2-only tests.
“Our locally manufactured kits have new innovations to take care of malaria mutations of deleted HRP2—we have another target, pLDH. Therefore, the many cases that were being missed because of this mutation are now being detected by our kits,” Dr Akwesigye said.
The company also revealed that its scientists are developing additional diagnostic innovations targeting other diseases.
“Our scientists are also working day and night to add another test to this malaria kit, to make it a combo for another neglected tropical disease that we shall inform the country about soon,” Dr Akwesigye said.
Uganda’s First Local Diagnostic Manufacturing Facility
Microhaem Scientifics operates a fully automated manufacturing facility in Ntinda, Kampala, established to produce affordable and quality diagnostic kits for Uganda and the wider region.
The facility was commissioned by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni on November 28, 2023, and was described as one of the first advanced in-vitro diagnostics manufacturing plants in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The company says the facility was built with an initial investment of US$25 million and is expected to create 1,500 direct jobs and 5,000 indirect jobs.
Microhaem Scientifics also secured a US$7.5 million development loan from the Uganda Development Bank to support its operations.
The plant has an installed production capacity of 80 million test kits annually and manufactures diagnostics for malaria, HIV and sickle cell disease, among other conditions.
Supporting Uganda’s Malaria Elimination Goals
The company has participated in the Parliamentary Malaria Walk since its inception, supporting efforts to transform the event into a wider national campaign against malaria.
Dr Akwesigye thanked organisers and partners for maintaining the initiative over the years. “I thank the Uganda Parliamentary Forum on Malaria, led by the Hon. Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa, for the consistency in holding this event for the past four years since its inauguration,” he said.
He added: “As MHS, we pledge to keep innovating and manufacturing health products for you—and this is one big way we can contribute to this partnership.”
Uganda has committed to eliminating malaria by 2030, with stakeholders emphasising that achieving the target requires collaboration between government institutions, development partners, private companies, health workers and communities.
Microhaem Scientifics says its contribution is centred on ensuring that accurate and affordable diagnostic tools are available closer to where patients seek care. “Quality Saves Lives” is the company’s stated mission as it continues expanding local production of medical diagnostics in Uganda.