TB CARE I June 2013 Newsletter
We've just released the latest version of the TB CARE I newsletter, which brings to you stories from a range of countries and activities, updates on the TB CARE I program and information on new publications and tools.
Latest News
TIBU: Using Innovative Technology to Improve the Kenya TB Program
TIBU, meaning “to treat” in Swahili is a unique system developed for use by the Division of Leprosy, Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (DLTLD) in Kenya and was launched in November 2012 with support from TB CARE I. It specifically address challenges in data management and ensures the tracking and monitoring of all TB patient data throughout the country. Through three in country companies in combination with DLTLD, USAID and TB CARE I, the partnership of five separate entities has been successful in pulling their expertise together to develop a system that is simplifying health delivery services and providing an equitable platform for tackling TB.
Measuring the Incidence of TB disease in Healthcare Workers
We've just published our guide for monitoring the incidence of TB disease among healthcare workers. The guide addresses issues such as stigma and work discrimination, and also provides practical recommendations on how to establish an effective monitoring system. This document is the result of years of operational research as well as debates and discussions organized by the WHO and TB CARE partners.
TB CARE I Quarterly Report 2 Year 3
As of March 2013, TB CARE I has reached the halfway point for the program’s five year implementation period (2010-2015). This quarter 2 report provides a technical update on progress made between January-March 2013 for TB CARE I core, regional and country projects.
TB CARE I Post Graduate Course @ The Union Conference in Paris 2013
TB CARE I will be holding a post-graduate course entitled 'Data for Decision Making and the Use of Data for Continuous Improvement' at this year's Union Conference in Paris on Thursday 31st October 2013 from 9:00 to 17:00. This course will provide participants with tools to use both technical and financial data for programmatic decision-making. During this interactive session, participants will examine how data can be used and interpreted for making informed decisions. Participants will recognize the importance of quality data, explore ways to maximize data use, comparative data and performance feedback, and learn tips for prioritizing programatic activities and resource allocation based on data. If you are going to be at the conference and would like to participate, sign-up will be available in June via the conference website, see link below.
TB CARE I @ The Union Conference Asia/Pacific in Viet Nam
At the 4th Union Conference in the Asia Pacific region which has just come to a close, TB CARE I held a symposium at the conference to discuss some of program's achievements so far in Viet Nam, Cambodia and Indonesia. Top of the list was the role of the Xpert MTB/RIF in support of PMDT scale-up in the region, the result of which was a shortening of diagnosis time, an increase in the number of patients diagnosed and starting on Category IV treatment and a reduction in the need for culture and DST.
Film: Indonesia Award for TB Work
On March 23rd 2013 USAID presented 'The Champion Award for Exceptional Work in the Fight Against TB' to Indonesia's Ministry of Health to acknowledge its success in significantly reducing the number of TB sufferers in the country. This short film picks up the story.
New MDR-TB Ward - Mulago National Referral Hospital, Uganda
As part of activities to mark the World TB Week in Uganda, Sarah Kataike, the Minister of State for general duties, opened the newly renovated model MDR-TB ward in Mulago National Referral Hospital. In Uganda about 300 MDR-TB patients have been diagnosed since 2008, but only 60 of them are on treatment. This fully equipped ward with a 39 bed capacity was funded by TB CARE I, and it will boost the number of patients being initiated on MDR-TB treatment.
TB CARE I South Sudan Country Director talks about TB on Voice of America
South Sudan Country Director Stephen Macharia talks about the country's TB situation in the run up to World TB Day on the 'Voice of America - Focus on South Sudan' radio programme.
Listen to the interview below:Reviving Santo: Sudanese Refugee Accesses TB Treatment
After South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011, disagreements over oil-sharing between the two nations caused fighting and high economic inflation in certain regions. Desperate for security, over 110,000 Sudanese refugees escaped to South Sudan and now reside in camps in Maban County. These refugees, and the county’s 40,000 residents, are served by Bounj Hospital, the only TB diagnostic and treatment center in the district. TB CARE I is helping to build the hospital staff’s capacity in TB treatment and infection control, despite the challenges the health workers face. Led by Management Sciences of Health in partnership with the National TB Program, the team has trained over 200 health workers in TB diagnosis and treatment. You can read the full story on the MSH Blog, linked below:
World TB Day 2013
Catch up on World TB Day events, activities, publications, tweets and more…
- TB CARE I List of Events for World TB Day
- USAID World TB Day Special Bulletin
- The Union releases new guidelines on the Management of Drug Resistant TB
- StopTB World TB Day Events
- #worldtbday on Twitter
- #HowtoStopTB on Twitter
- US$ 1.6 billion a year TB Funding Gap
- MSH - We Know How to Stop TB: World TB Day 2013
USAID TB Report to Congress Released
Entitled "Accelerating Impact: Expanding Access to Care U.S. Government Report on International Foreign Assistance for TB FY 2011/2012" the new USAID report to Congress on TB highlights key programmatic achievements and collaboration of the different U.S. Government agencies involved in global TB programs. It includes the latest data on key results for USAID-funded TB activities and highlights successful projects in Malawi, Brazil, Afghanistan, and Cambodia, among others.
TB Video Campaign - Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is one of the countries in Latin America with the highest rates of TB, with help from TB CARE I and the famous actor/comedian Raymond Pozo, a campaign of public information has been launched to turn this situation around.
19th Conference of The Union Africa Region
The 19th Conference of The Union Africa Region, will be held in Kigali on 20-22 June 2013. Abstracts are now being accepted for research and analysis to be presented at the conference and submissions must be made online before the deadline: 10 April 2013.
TB CARE I Year 2 Highlights
This is the 2nd edition of the TB CARE I summary report which brings you a snapshot of TB CARE I results two years into the five-year program, it highlights the coalition's successes under all the USAID technical areas.
Videos from TB CARE I in Cambodia
Two new videos highlighting TB CARE I work in Cambodia on the TB CARE Vimeo page. The videos show how TB CARE I is using mobile technology to deliver test results more quickly to patients, how we are educating Kampong Cham on how to minimize the spread of TB, and how Yim Chann triumphed in his fight against MDR-TB. Click the link below to see them and all of our other videos.
Lessons from Loss
Announcing the latest TB CARE I tool, 'Lessons from Loss'. This tool is designed to collect information on factors leading to mortality among TB patients in order to help health professionals, planners, managers working in TB programs, and TB advocates to save TB patients’ lives by improving care seeking and the quality of care. The tool offers step by step guidance on how to pinpoint where the problems lie and to build consensus toward feasible solutions.
Gold Awards for TB CARE I workers in Nigeria
The State TBL Programme Officers Forum of Nigeria designed annual awards to honor persons who have made an immense contribution to the development of TB and Leprosy Control in the country. TB CARE I workers in Nigeria, Dr. Gidado Mustapha and Dr. Emmy van der Grinten (Former Nigeria Country Director and now Regional Coordinator TB CARE I - TB in the mines) received the 2012 National STBLCO Forum Golden Award for their valuable contributions. The awards were presented at the 2012 State TB and Leprosy Programme Managers Review Meeting which in Ilorin, Kwara State, on November 28th and 29th 2012. Dr. Gidado Mustapha is pictured receiving both awards.
TB CARE I Annual Report Year 2
TB CARE I has published it's second annual report covering our activities, achievements and success stories from Year 2 of the program.
TB CARE I @ 43rd Union Conference in Kuala Lumpur
TB CARE I was present at the 43rd Union Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Thanks to all those who stopped by to find out more about our activities and what we are doing across TB CARE I supported countries.
Building the Capacity of Civil Society Organizations
We've just published the latest TB CARE I tool, entitled 'Building the Capacity of Civil Society Organizations in TB Control - An Approach'. Designed to develop the capacity of civil society organizations in TB Control, this package includes the approach, the training materials, the monitoring and evaluation framework, and the results.
TB CARE I - Indonesia
TB CARE I through partner Management Sciences for Health is helping the National TB Program by providing support in costing, insurance and budgeting to further strengthen the Ministry of Health’s financial sustainability strategy.
WHO Releases 2012 Global TB Report
The World Health Organization (WHO) Global Tuberculosis Report 2012 has been published. The report provides the latest information and analysis about the TB epidemic and progress in TB care and control at global, regional and country levels. It is based primarily on data reported by WHO’s Member States in annual rounds of global TB data collection. In 2012, 182 Member States and a total of 204 countries and territories that collectively have more than 99% of the world’s TB cases reported data.
TB CARE I Workshop in Kuala Lumpur
As part of the 43rd Union World Conference on Lung Health in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia the program management unit of TB CARE I held a workshop named 'Linking Outcomes to Finances'. In this workshop participants learnt how to understand the key components of performance-based management, including performance planning, monitoring and feedback systems as well as being equipped with innovative approaches and tools to link technical outcomes with financial performance in their tuberculosis control programs. Over 30 people participated and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with several requests for more such workshops in the future.
TB CARE I September 2012 Newsletter
If you are interested in the latest developments from TB CARE I, we have just released the third edition of our newsletter which contains: program highlights, success stories, introductions to new staff members and projects, and lists our latest publications.
Guidelines to Measure the Prevalence of TB among Healthcare Workers
New Publication: It has been proven that in many settings the burden of TB is higher among healthcare workers (HCWs) than amongst the general population. It is very important to prevent the transmission of TB in facilities, thereby preventing TB among HCWs. This guide has been developed to help and guide the monitoring of active TB disease incidence among HCWs through routine surveillance.
South East Asian Regional Workshop on Xpert MTB/RIF
TB CARE I organized a South East Asian Regional Workshop on Xpert MTB/RIF from 4-6 September 2012 in Jakarta, Indonesia. Participants included 43 representatives from national programs, clinics and laboratories from Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Burma/Myanmar, the Philippines and Nigeria, as well as national and regional technical partners and supra-national laboratories. During the workshop, the latest recommendations and evidence on the Xpert MTB/RIF test were presented by international facilitators from WHO, CDC, USAID and KNCV. Through discussions and group exercises, the six countries developed a national action plan to ensure continued quality of routine use and sustainable scale-up of Xpert MTB/RIF in the coming years. TB CARE I will closely follow up with these countries to support the realization of their plans.
Patient Centered Approach - Cambodia
As part of the 'Patient Centered Approach' project, Cambodia chose two tools to implement, of which one is QUOTE TB Light. QUOTE is the acronym for Quality of Care as seen through the Eyes of the Patient, which is an important element of improving care to better meet their needs, increase equity and improve access to services for diagnosis and treatment. The picture shows a focus group discussion being held with patients using the pictogram cards from the package, to measure the importance of the nine quality dimensions: Communication and Information, Professional competence, Availability of TB services, Affordability, Patient provider interaction and counseling, Support, TB/HIV Relationship, Infrastructure and Stigma.
GeneXpert Workshop - Mombasa
TB CARE I held a GeneXpert Workshop from the 21st-25th May 2012 in Mombasa Kenya. The 5-day workshop was attended by representatives from National Reference Laboratories, National TB Program representatives from Botswana, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe as well as technical partners and Supra-national Laboratory staff. During the workshop, international recommendations for GeneXpert implementation and use as well as the latest evidence on Xpert MTB/Rif were presented by international facilitators.
TB CARE I - Report on World TB Day Events 2012
Just Released: A short publication on the activities, celebrations and events TB CARE I was involved with for World TB Day 2012. Take a look at the innovative ways each country used, to keep TB education, detection and treatment at the top of the agenda.
New PPM Guide
TB CARE I has published a new guide to Public Private Mix in TB Control, this document describes the initial efforts to be developed by the NTP on PPM and explains each of the essential steps toward forming a strong alliance with potential partners for active involvement in TB control.
Ghana Stop TB Video
Bice Osei Kuffour aka Obour - Musician and Ghana TB Ambassador has written a TB Song which aims to educate the people of Ghana on TB prevention and control, remind people to seek early treatment since TB is curable and that treatment is FREE, and dispel the misconception that TB is a curse but a disease which can be cured.
New Stop TB Department Newsletter
The first edition of the WHO Stop TB Department quarterly newsletter - Stop TB e-focus is now available. Its purpose is to provide information and updates on the WHO’s efforts to advance universal access to TB prevention, care and control. It highlights key WHO products and publications, web news and meetings.
Pakistan TB Prevalence Survey Preliminary Results
The prevalence survey of Pulmonary TB in Pakistan 2010-11 confirms that there are 295 cases of TB per 100,000 of the adult population over the age of 15 years. These preliminary findings allow for more informed decision-making by removing the reliance on obsolete data derived from estimations and should enhance Pakistan's ability to combat the disease more effectively. The TB CARE I Deputy Director for Technical Services, Dr Jeroen van Gorkom said, "The work has just begun. As we count the number of TB patients detected in Pakistan each year, we know that many layers of the population still do not have access to required facilities for registration, diagnosis and treatment."
World TB Day 24th March 2012
TB CARE I celebrated World TB Day in several provinces of Afghanistan on the 24/3/12 with various events which were covered by the media. The picture shows the interview of a TB smear positive patient under treatment for the past 1.5 months in one of the remote urban facilities in Kabul city recently opened DOTS services with the support of TB CARE I.
USAID Report to Congress
Tuberculosis (TB), an ancient disease, has plagued mankind for millennia. TB is activated when an individual’s immune system is weakened by any number of causal factors: old age, malnutrition, pregnancy, HIV, and other factors, such as diabetes. It is estimated that more than one-third of the population in the developing world who are exposed to these conditions are infected with the disease. However, TB is curable with treatment, which means this terrible disease can be stopped. Join the World TB Day celebrations and strive to stop TB in our lifetime.
Voices of TB
To coincide with the annual World TB Day, USAID has published a two page brochure which tells some of the powerful stories of former TB patients from around the world whose lives have been impacted by this debilitating disease.
Tuberculosis – We Can Beat this Global Killer
A briefing and update on tuberculosis, a disease which is curable but still takes the lives of 4,000 people each day and is the number one killer of people living with HIV. Special areas of focus of the briefing include US global leadership on TB, how communities are addressing the crisis, the threat of drug-resistant TB, and progress towards an effective vaccine, better medications and faster diagnostics.
New TB Infection Control resource page on CDC website
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Division of Global HIV/AIDS (DGHA) has launched a TB infection control (TB-IC) resource page. The materials published there are based on the WHO Policy on TB Infection Control in Health-Care Facilities, Congregate Settings and Households (2009) and emphasize basic, simple activities that can be performed at the facility level to begin implementation of TB infection control. A 15-minute training video is available in English and French and is designed to address pre- and in-service training needs. All the materials are available for download.
Vietnam Receives First GeneXpert Machines
On February 6th, 2012 TB CARE I collaborated with Vietnam National TB Program (NTP) to organize a ceremony to commemorate the delivery of the first 2 Xpert MTB/RIF diagnostic systems out of 17 machines which will be provided under the TB CARE I Project. The ceremony which took place at the National Lung Hospital, was attended by representatives of USAID (including the Country Director Mr. Francis Donovan), KNCV, WHO, MSH, FIND, CDC and representatives of the TB CARE I's local partners including the NTP and Central 74 Hospital. Two media articles on the event are linked to below (both in Vietnamese):
Operations Research Course - Cambodia
TB CARE I recently held an Operations Research course in Cambodia, a collaboration between KNCV, FHI 360 and WHO, with support from CDC. The course focused on developing new research on the following topics:
- • Improving Screening in Childhood TB
- • Low case detection among MDR suspects
- • A randomized control trial to improve the referral of risk groups in PPM and C-DOTS
- • Barriers to TB diagnosis among the Elderly – A Case-Control Study using Prevalence Survey data
Photovoices - Dominican Republic
Photovoices is a project in the Dominican Republic which aims to uncover the the human face of TB. Using photography and accompanying text, TB patients express their feelings and experiences, whilst driving both education and discussion on the subject of Tuberculosis. Selected photos can be seen in the form of a slideshow, which is available in English and Spanish.
TB CARE I Dominican Republic Director Wins Award
TB CARE I country director in the Dominican Republic Dr. Luis Alberto Rodríguez Reyes, M.D. has been awarded the ‘Premio Nacional de la Juventud Santo Domingo 2012’ (National Youth Award Santo Domingo 2012) in the category ‘Most Outstanding Contribution to Health' this prestigious prize was awarded on the ‘Día Nacional de la Juventud’ (National Youth Day). TB CARE I is very proud that Dr Luis Alberto is part of our team and we wish him all the best. We are confident that his contribution and that of the TB CARE I team will help in the fight against TB in the Dominican Republic. For more information on the award (in Spanish) click here.
Website for Step-wise approach to TB Lab Accreditation
The Global Laboratory Initiative (GLI) has developed a Stepwise Process towards TB Laboratory Accreditation to assist national level tuberculosis diagnostic laboratories implement a Quality Management System which meets international standards. This guide translates the requirements of the ISO 15189 international standard into step-by-step activities, structures them in an interactive roadmap and provides many user-modifiable support materials such as document templates, software and information.
Surviving XDR-TB Twice
What happens if you get extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis twice? Here is one woman's story, click the link below.
