Over 1 million people get information on TB

Rumbidzayi Zinyuke, Senior Reporter

MORE than one million Zimbabweans have been reached with vital information about TB and HIV since 2019 through the US$15 million USAID-supported Kunda-Nqob’iTB (KN-TB) programme.

The programme was implemented by the Union Zimbabwe Trust in partnership with the Joined Hands Welfare Organisation, Hospice Palliative Care Association of Zimbabwe and Baines Occupational Health Services, as part of a global initiative to end TB.

So far 13 800 individuals in eight districts have been screened for TB.

It was implemented across the eight priority districts of Gweru, Kwekwe, Shurugwi, Chirumhanzu, Zvishavane, Gwanda, Insiza, and Mwenezi to find missed persons with TB and link them to care.

Speaking at the close-out ceremony for the KN-TB programme in Harare on Wednesday, Health and Child Care Minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora, who was represented by Deputy Minister Sleiman Kwidini, said collaborative work had contributed to the successes that had been registered in the fight against TB.

“This engagement is an opportunity to collectively reflect on the positive significant achievements made and opportunities created through the KN-TB project. The improved case-finding efforts, community involvement, TB and occupational health as well as palliative care efforts are worth mentioning.

“This is coupled with building capacity and strengthening the laboratory services among other achievements. Over and above the support directly rendered to the eight project districts, my Ministry is aware of the support that the project has been consistently offering at strategic, policy and guidance level.

“These efforts have contributed to the impact at the country level and the Ministry of Health and Child Care appreciates the contributions made. The gains made shall permanently be on record as having moved the Zimbabwe TB Control agenda forward,” he said.

TB is a major public health challenge in Zimbabwe. Although the country has made significant progress in reducing the burden of TB, it continues to be heavily burdened with TB as a result of HIV as well as multi-drug-resistant TB.

Minister Mombeshora said Government was committed to putting in place measures to ensure the global goals to end TB by 2030 are achieved.

The KN-TB chief of party, Dr Ronald Ncube, acknowledged the investment, noting the indelible footprint of the programme over the last five years.

“The consortium is grateful to USAID for the generous and timely support that enabled a collaborative response between the Ministry of Health and Child Care, consortium partners and relevant players that had a stake in addressing real concerns in the national response.

“We look back with a sense of accomplishment as we retrace an eventful journey over the last 5 years, a testament to the strength of partnership, innovation and unwavering commitment in the fight to end TB in Zimbabwe,” he said.

The KN-TB supported community-related interventions in TB case finding, prevention and patient support through a network of close to 1 000 community health workers. The programme targeted marginalised and often stigmatised population groups, such as artisanal small-scale miners with screening services for TB, HIV and silicosis.

Over the project life cycle, close to 14 500 artisanal miners were reached, with over 1 000 diagnosed with TB and close to 3 000 with silicosis.

USAID mission director for Zimbabwe, Ms Janean Davis, expressed satisfaction that the project had helped build the capacity of health facilities and implemented local solutions to improve tuberculosis diagnosis, treatment, and prevention services in the country.

“Today, we are here to celebrate our collective efforts that have led to the results we have seen. This program has shown us all that supporting several new tools, innovations and approaches improves TB prevention and treatment in the country,” she said.

USAID had supported the setting up of TB centres of excellence that improved TB treatment outcomes from 79 per cent to 90 percent.

Working with partners, the organisation also introduced the TB Stamp strategy, a simple innovation where all individuals visiting a health facility get a TB symptom screen stamped on their patient cards which prompts health workers to screen them for TB at every entry level to a health facility. The strategy increased detecting TB cases by 25 percent.

World Health Organisation representative for Zimbabwe, Dr Desta Tiruneh, who was represented by acting team lead for communicable and non-communicable diseases Dr Mkhokheli Ngwenya, said there was still more to be done to ensure the country achieves the targets to end TB. More investment was needed to achieve this.

“This year, WHO developed an investment case to support countries in advocating for and allocating increased resources to scale-up TB screening and preventive treatment towards reaching new targets committed by Heads of State at the 2023 UN High-Level Meeting on TB,” said Dr Tiruneh.